This is one of those movies I'd heard a lot about, but never quite found myself in the right place to see, until I finally managed to lay my hands on a Hong Kong DVD.
Few things in movies irritate me like white subs against light backgrounds, especially when it's a widescreen DVD with acres of virgin darkness below the screen area, but in this case such gripes are largely irrelevant. The plot is neatly woven and each character is given enough time to establish their true intentions. Not being a Chinese speaker, I tend to watch the nuances of expression for glimpses of the subtler plot elements, and that usually helps me to fill in the gaps left by those unreadable subs.
Subjectively, this is a very mobile film, which gets moving in fine style with some beautiful travelogue style tracking shots of high mountain China, and a mildly incongruous "borrowed" top of the range Beamer. The brief hiatus before the train journey begins, allows us to glimpse the widening cracks in the happy couple's business relationship. The naivety of the young farmer they encounter is a useful counterpoint to Andy Lau's selfishness. And thus begins an exploration of honesty under duress.
I don't want to go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that there's some fun cgi trickery, some elegant grifting duets, and some nicely underplayed camp malevolence, all washed through with strangely hypnotic, slightly blurred cinematography and lighting. Very similar to the woozy feeling one gets after a few hours on a train.
This film covers its many bases with an elasticity that allows the viewer to figure it out in their own good time. The underlying atmosphere of quiet menace versus insouciant braggadaccio, centred around the naif's bundle of cash and his gentle zen philosophy, is perfectly played out to a subtle and suitably rhythmic score. Where a western film would brutally over-dramatise the scene on the roof of the train, here it's played so nonchalantly that one would almost assume it's an everyday occurrence.
As a modern take on an old fable, it works on every level. I enjoyed watching the onion being peeled away, layer by layer, to the point where it became pure fatalism. Honesty, dignity, bravery, and compassion. With added sleight of hand, and a pinch of sorrow and sadness. Well worth seeing.
Few things in movies irritate me like white subs against light backgrounds, especially when it's a widescreen DVD with acres of virgin darkness below the screen area, but in this case such gripes are largely irrelevant. The plot is neatly woven and each character is given enough time to establish their true intentions. Not being a Chinese speaker, I tend to watch the nuances of expression for glimpses of the subtler plot elements, and that usually helps me to fill in the gaps left by those unreadable subs.
Subjectively, this is a very mobile film, which gets moving in fine style with some beautiful travelogue style tracking shots of high mountain China, and a mildly incongruous "borrowed" top of the range Beamer. The brief hiatus before the train journey begins, allows us to glimpse the widening cracks in the happy couple's business relationship. The naivety of the young farmer they encounter is a useful counterpoint to Andy Lau's selfishness. And thus begins an exploration of honesty under duress.
I don't want to go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that there's some fun cgi trickery, some elegant grifting duets, and some nicely underplayed camp malevolence, all washed through with strangely hypnotic, slightly blurred cinematography and lighting. Very similar to the woozy feeling one gets after a few hours on a train.
This film covers its many bases with an elasticity that allows the viewer to figure it out in their own good time. The underlying atmosphere of quiet menace versus insouciant braggadaccio, centred around the naif's bundle of cash and his gentle zen philosophy, is perfectly played out to a subtle and suitably rhythmic score. Where a western film would brutally over-dramatise the scene on the roof of the train, here it's played so nonchalantly that one would almost assume it's an everyday occurrence.
As a modern take on an old fable, it works on every level. I enjoyed watching the onion being peeled away, layer by layer, to the point where it became pure fatalism. Honesty, dignity, bravery, and compassion. With added sleight of hand, and a pinch of sorrow and sadness. Well worth seeing.