There's something so very right about an angry Gal stalking the streets of Hong Kong with a gun in his hand. That's French music icon Johnny Hallyday as a father who comes to Hong Kong to avenge his family with the aid of some able bodied locals. Behind the wheel is Johnny To.
*UPDATE* The second trailer has been released in honor of the film being selected to compete at Cannes in May:
(The first trailer and teaser are still available on the official website)
While other Hong Kong directors have somehow fallen by the wayside-either trying to launch international careers or not being as productive as in their earlier career-Johnny To has remained, if not become, the sole flag bearer of Hong Kong cinema in recent years. His output has been tremendous, releasing a film (or two!) a year; he has managed to refine his style, yet remain true to his trademarks. He has explored typical HK cinema themes, and evolved them for the 21st century. This project is just one of those ways he is exercising his directorial muscles. He's telling a revenge flick-nothing new there, but he's cast a French icon in the lead for a mostly English language outing. You can find To regulars such as Anthony Wong rounding out the cast, but you see hints of new ideas and visualizations that still amaze you every time he releases a film. To is still able to imbue tried-and-true Triad or HK crime stories with a sense of cool I find very few other directors whose name isn't Andrew Lau have been able to do.
In any case, I am personally in love with the fact that he's cast one of my favorite contemporary French actresses in this film, Sylvie Testud. I just hope her role won't be regulated to flashback snippets. If this film is just a warm up to working with French talent, meaning the long rumored remake of Melville's Le Cercle Rouge to which To has been attached, and if he is truly gunning to cast the legendary Alain Delon in it, then you can already count me in.
No comments:
Post a Comment