Another sublime film for Johnnie To, whose narration and progression of the story are exclusively based on the behavior of the characters and not on the dialogues or the things stated by words. That is to say, exclusively on the staging of each scene and on the movements of the characters. A magical film.
The film follows a trio of characters, first alone, then together: it is their interactions that will make the story evolve until the final resolution. The viewer never knows more than the characters and does not understand or discover their motivation along the way, in small steps. This makes it impossible to guess what will happen next. And that makes the film captivating until its resolution. But also thanks to the staging of each sequence where Johnnie To brilliantly uses the streets of Hong Kong.
The resolution, by the way, has no real meaning, because nothing much happens in this film, but it still manages to captivate the viewer. Emotional elements arrive regularly and surface even if the characters' motivations are indifferent to us (one is looking for a job as a singer, the other wants to face the great masters of Judo). And this by their interactions: without music or insistent dialogue.
The cinematography loves the night settings and loves to shoot the city of Hong Kong. The city and its streets are almost a fourth character.
The judo of the title corresponds to a dramatic arc that motivates one of the three main characters. It is a pretext that does not matter and does not prevent the film from containing elements of pure beauty.
The film is a tribute to Akira Kurosawa that Johnnie To admires. Very great art.
The film follows a trio of characters, first alone, then together: it is their interactions that will make the story evolve until the final resolution. The viewer never knows more than the characters and does not understand or discover their motivation along the way, in small steps. This makes it impossible to guess what will happen next. And that makes the film captivating until its resolution. But also thanks to the staging of each sequence where Johnnie To brilliantly uses the streets of Hong Kong.
The resolution, by the way, has no real meaning, because nothing much happens in this film, but it still manages to captivate the viewer. Emotional elements arrive regularly and surface even if the characters' motivations are indifferent to us (one is looking for a job as a singer, the other wants to face the great masters of Judo). And this by their interactions: without music or insistent dialogue.
The cinematography loves the night settings and loves to shoot the city of Hong Kong. The city and its streets are almost a fourth character.
The judo of the title corresponds to a dramatic arc that motivates one of the three main characters. It is a pretext that does not matter and does not prevent the film from containing elements of pure beauty.
The film is a tribute to Akira Kurosawa that Johnnie To admires. Very great art.