The aesthetics of a careful B/W cinematography turns Hong-Kong into an unreal city, made up in 4K, present and observing violence in an underworld of garbage and rot. However, it hides a narrative that enjoys the humiliation and harassment of Wang To, an involuntary executioner and victim of male monsters. There is an aesthetic of violence that is formally fascinating but narratively debatable.
Like walking past a trash bin in summer and finding the scent not all that unpleasant.
This Chinese film noir about a detective with nothing left to lose and the lawless waif who wronged him is set in gutters, sewers and back alleys where it peels back the filth of Hong Kong to reveal the tarnished gold and scarred souls that lie beneath.
This movie would have been so much better and more suspenseful if the ending hadn't been given away in the first scene.
The portrayal of trash, waste, dirt, the city, and its citizens in black and white works so well, that with a slightly better story and without the mentioned first scene, this movie could have been a masterpiece. I'd still recommend it though.
Review by FLYVIP 2BlockedParent2021-09-16T12:08:17Z
Clearly presents itself as a Sev7n like. Weird serial killer. Team of old cop/young cop. Someone who kills the cop's wife. But clearly doesn't reach the same level.
First as we see very early, Cham's pregnant wife was killed by a young girl (To) in a car accident. She just gets released from prison, and the huge majority of the story is him trying to beat her or kill her (directly, or indirectly by denouncing her as an informant in front of dozens of criminals) versus her trying to help him and get forgiven for the accident. Get ready to see her beaten up a lot.
The second biggest part is the cops looking in piles of garbage. For corpses, for clues, for a gun, etc.
The killer himself is clearly retarded and doesn't speak. There's no planning or intelligence here, just a fetish/mother complex. That makes the chase pretty bland.
It's using one of the last scenes as intro. It was a very bad idea here. It pretty much gives away what will happen during the climax, and brings nothing to the movie.
The black and white style works very well on wide decor views, gives a really nice aesthetic. It's more of an handicap for everything else though, from action, to distinguishing what is really in the piles of garbage. Could also have gone a bit easier on the rain.
There's probably some societal comment too about this whole neighbourhood being a pile of garbage, but I don't have the reference.