After having been told by a friend for months about film director John Woo and a movie sub-genre called Heroic Bloodshed,I decided that due to a poll being held on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best titles of 1989,that I would finally discover how heroic the bloodshed could really be.
The plot:
Sitting in a church,a Triad hit-man called Ah Jong is given details by a fellow Triad, (and close friend) called Fung Sei over an assassination that he has been ordered to do,the target of which is going to be visiting a night club later that night.
Entering the club,Ah finds himself feeling an unexpectedly strong connection with the vocal delivery of the singer at the club,called Jennie.Getting the sudden urge to keep Jennie safe,Jong carries out the assassination on the target,and then pushes Jennie on the ground,so that she is out of harms way.Sadly Ah's plan is ruined when one of the target's bodyguards begins shooting at him,which leads to Jong firing a shot which accidentally scratches Jennie's eyes,and causes serious damage to her sight.
6 Months later:
Finding the image of Jennie losing her sight to be an image that's unable to leave his mind,Ah starts visiting the club and sitting in the back,so that he can hear the hauntingly beautiful voice of Jennie, (who along with not being able to spot Jong due to her blindness,has also been told by DR's that there is a long waiting list for the operation that save her sight)perform.
Walking back from the club one night,Ah suddenly spots 2 thugs attempting to attack Jennie.Beating them up into a bloody pulp,Jong tells Jennie that he will walk her the rest of the way home.Being invited in to the flat by Jennie,thanks to saving her from being attacked by the thugs,Jong is sicken to see the full extent that his mistake has had on Jennie's life.
Talking to Jennie,Ah finds out that whilst there is a long waiting list for her operation in Hong Kong,that there is a much shorter waiting list for the same operation in other countries.Desperate to make up for his fatal mistake,Jong tells Fung that he is going to do 'one last job' for a high price,which will allow him to use the cash to send Jennie abroad for her operation.Expecting this killing to be his final task,Ah Jong soon discovers to his horror that the killer may be about to become,the killed.
View on the film:
Opening with a blistering assassination,writer/director John Woo reveals a startling eye for stylisation,with Woo keeping away from delivery the bloodshed action in short,sharp shots by slowing every bullet shot down to a tenth of its actually speed,which along with showing to the viewer the full impact that each shoot-out has on the character's,also allows Woo to give the action (which Woo claims was not storyboarded,but in fact made up on the day of filming!)an unexpected poetic quality,as each of Ah Long's target's fall down in a ballet like manner.Along with slowing the pace of the action down,Woo also uses tightly coiled close up's to reveal the fear and adrenaline rush that the violence feeds into the character's.
Making sure to keep away from making the non-violent moments in the title 'filler',Woo displays a real skill in showing both sides of Ah Jongs conflicting personality,with Woo making a brightly lit,dove filled, (a motif that would become one of the director's trademarks) church Jong's unofficial home,as Woo shows Long to find a sense of peace and healing in the building,which inadvertently leads to Long experiencing a harsh twist of fate,as the shadow of the high church covers him.
Despite the post-production period of the title being a complete nightmare thanks to John Woo and producer Hark Tsui, (who along with wanting to completely change the plot so that Ah Long would become a supporting character,decided to celebrate the movies hit opening weekend,by allegedly chucking his furniture out of the office window!) never being able to get on,Woo builds a strikingly intense atmosphere by combining the grim atmosphere of the Film Noir and Italian Crime genres,with a burning passion that gives the Heroic Bloodshed genre a distinctive soulful side.
Showing Ah Jongs relationship with Jennie to be something that desperately makes him want to leave their dark world behind,Woo show's Ah Jongs 'Heroic' Bloodsheeding morals to be ones that are getting burnt up from the world he inhabits,thanks to Woo filling his primary colour- draining world with gangsters,thugs and corrupt politicians who have made a decaying city where any sense of morals are to be shot dead.
Taking on the title role,Chow Yun-Fat gives an excellent performance as Ah Jong,with Yun-Fat avoiding the easy option of making Jong a heartless thug,by showing the pain that Jong experience's from the effects that his 'job' has on his few friends and Jennie,whose singing haunts Jong to remember what he almost destroyed.Giving the movie a shot of glamour,real life Pop star Sally Yeh gives an excellent performance as Jennie,with Yeh giving the title some strong operatic vibes from the pain that Jong accidentally inflicts on her,to showing Jennie developing a warming heart towards Jong.
Joining Yun-Fat and Yeh,Danny Lee gives a brilliant performance as Insp.Li Ying,as Lee show Ying struggling with the very real idea that he might be the other side of the coin to Jong's assassin,whilst Kong Chu gives an amazing performance as the warn down gangster Wong Hoi,who discovers,that despite wanting to leave this life behind,that in this city,killing is everybody's business,and that business is good.
The plot:
Sitting in a church,a Triad hit-man called Ah Jong is given details by a fellow Triad, (and close friend) called Fung Sei over an assassination that he has been ordered to do,the target of which is going to be visiting a night club later that night.
Entering the club,Ah finds himself feeling an unexpectedly strong connection with the vocal delivery of the singer at the club,called Jennie.Getting the sudden urge to keep Jennie safe,Jong carries out the assassination on the target,and then pushes Jennie on the ground,so that she is out of harms way.Sadly Ah's plan is ruined when one of the target's bodyguards begins shooting at him,which leads to Jong firing a shot which accidentally scratches Jennie's eyes,and causes serious damage to her sight.
6 Months later:
Finding the image of Jennie losing her sight to be an image that's unable to leave his mind,Ah starts visiting the club and sitting in the back,so that he can hear the hauntingly beautiful voice of Jennie, (who along with not being able to spot Jong due to her blindness,has also been told by DR's that there is a long waiting list for the operation that save her sight)perform.
Walking back from the club one night,Ah suddenly spots 2 thugs attempting to attack Jennie.Beating them up into a bloody pulp,Jong tells Jennie that he will walk her the rest of the way home.Being invited in to the flat by Jennie,thanks to saving her from being attacked by the thugs,Jong is sicken to see the full extent that his mistake has had on Jennie's life.
Talking to Jennie,Ah finds out that whilst there is a long waiting list for her operation in Hong Kong,that there is a much shorter waiting list for the same operation in other countries.Desperate to make up for his fatal mistake,Jong tells Fung that he is going to do 'one last job' for a high price,which will allow him to use the cash to send Jennie abroad for her operation.Expecting this killing to be his final task,Ah Jong soon discovers to his horror that the killer may be about to become,the killed.
View on the film:
Opening with a blistering assassination,writer/director John Woo reveals a startling eye for stylisation,with Woo keeping away from delivery the bloodshed action in short,sharp shots by slowing every bullet shot down to a tenth of its actually speed,which along with showing to the viewer the full impact that each shoot-out has on the character's,also allows Woo to give the action (which Woo claims was not storyboarded,but in fact made up on the day of filming!)an unexpected poetic quality,as each of Ah Long's target's fall down in a ballet like manner.Along with slowing the pace of the action down,Woo also uses tightly coiled close up's to reveal the fear and adrenaline rush that the violence feeds into the character's.
Making sure to keep away from making the non-violent moments in the title 'filler',Woo displays a real skill in showing both sides of Ah Jongs conflicting personality,with Woo making a brightly lit,dove filled, (a motif that would become one of the director's trademarks) church Jong's unofficial home,as Woo shows Long to find a sense of peace and healing in the building,which inadvertently leads to Long experiencing a harsh twist of fate,as the shadow of the high church covers him.
Despite the post-production period of the title being a complete nightmare thanks to John Woo and producer Hark Tsui, (who along with wanting to completely change the plot so that Ah Long would become a supporting character,decided to celebrate the movies hit opening weekend,by allegedly chucking his furniture out of the office window!) never being able to get on,Woo builds a strikingly intense atmosphere by combining the grim atmosphere of the Film Noir and Italian Crime genres,with a burning passion that gives the Heroic Bloodshed genre a distinctive soulful side.
Showing Ah Jongs relationship with Jennie to be something that desperately makes him want to leave their dark world behind,Woo show's Ah Jongs 'Heroic' Bloodsheeding morals to be ones that are getting burnt up from the world he inhabits,thanks to Woo filling his primary colour- draining world with gangsters,thugs and corrupt politicians who have made a decaying city where any sense of morals are to be shot dead.
Taking on the title role,Chow Yun-Fat gives an excellent performance as Ah Jong,with Yun-Fat avoiding the easy option of making Jong a heartless thug,by showing the pain that Jong experience's from the effects that his 'job' has on his few friends and Jennie,whose singing haunts Jong to remember what he almost destroyed.Giving the movie a shot of glamour,real life Pop star Sally Yeh gives an excellent performance as Jennie,with Yeh giving the title some strong operatic vibes from the pain that Jong accidentally inflicts on her,to showing Jennie developing a warming heart towards Jong.
Joining Yun-Fat and Yeh,Danny Lee gives a brilliant performance as Insp.Li Ying,as Lee show Ying struggling with the very real idea that he might be the other side of the coin to Jong's assassin,whilst Kong Chu gives an amazing performance as the warn down gangster Wong Hoi,who discovers,that despite wanting to leave this life behind,that in this city,killing is everybody's business,and that business is good.