tearjerker director

Chapter 693 is free and easy, not heroic
"Dark War" - the cornerstone of the revival of Hong Kong films! "

This is the title of Liu Bo's review of this movie, and it is indeed what he thinks.

"I don't know when, we all think that the era of Hong Kong films has passed, Hong Kong films are dead, this is what I once shouted!

Once upon a time, speaking of the golden age of Hong Kong Island movies, what we must not miss are the gangster movies!
When the mainland film market is rising rapidly, when the first movie breaks through 10 billion, 20 billion, 30 billion, what is left of the once-popular Hong Kong Island movies?
"Happy Events 2010" "Happy Events 2012". The sequels of the dog-tailed minks and so on, all kinds of insincere crude productions!
As an old Hong Kong film critic, I am angry, outraged, and sad!I used to think that maybe Hong Kong movies really don't adapt to the development of the times?Is it true that the audience no longer likes watching stories that happened on Hong Kong Island?
When "Infernal Affairs" was released, I cried with excitement. It turned out that it was not that the audience no longer liked Hong Kong films, but that we lacked serious filmmakers.

The cruelest thing in this world is not despair, but when you are in despair, it gives you hope, and then knocks the dust down again, and despairs again.

"Infernal Affairs" rose under the banner of the revival of Hong Kong films, and various films under the banner of revival of Hong Kong films began to be launched, but they did not understand that the revival of Hong Kong films is not a gimmick, but a hope, a need for them to go Seriously fulfilled hopes.

But that group of people were eager for quick success, put the cart before the horse, and tried to sell dog meat again and again, smashing the Hong Kong Island movie brand again and again!

It also wiped out the hope of revival of Hong Kong films that "Infernal Affairs" had finally condensed.

Hong Kong Island movies, what's left?Feelings?No, even that bit of sentiment has been ruined by those insincere crude fabrications!
This is what is most depressing.

Simply, there is also Li Yi, a Hong Kong director who was born and raised in Hong Kong Island, educated in the Mainland, and succeeded in the world. So there is "Dark War"!
Back to "Dark War", He Shangsheng, a Hong Kong policeman, is a member of the Flying Tigers and transferred to a civilian job. His desire to return to the Flying Tigers proves that he is unwilling to be ordinary!It's a pity that he has excellent professional ability, but lacks emotional intelligence, so he is the inspector, while Huang Qifa is the chief inspector.

Is there a very familiar feeling?
Yes, I believe that in him, everyone can see and smell a strong smell of Hong Kong Island police.

He is the same as the hero in many familiar Hong Kong police movies. He must be a detective.

He doesn't know how to respect the leader, he will make fun of the leader face to face, he doesn't seem to know how to get along with others, even his life is work, he doesn't seem to be so successful in anything except work, he wants to take care of everything!

He has gathered the characteristics of many old Hong Kong film detectives, and he is full of Hong Kong flavor.

What I have to mention is that Huang Qifa is the boss of the protagonist of the old Hong Kong movie in the traditional sense!
His appearance is a sentence that makes everyone smile: I am Chief Inspector Huang Qifa, surrender within 3 minutes!
This sentence can be said to have become a symbol of many gangster films on Hong Kong Island to some extent.

I think many people may say that one dry detective is enough, and Huang sir only needs to be responsible for being funny.

But is this really the case?
Not in my opinion, the interesting part of "Dark War" lies in this.

In my opinion, Huang Qifa is definitely more than just responsible for being funny.

Many of his words, in fact, give people a sense of laughter at first glance, but when you think about it carefully, you will find that many of his words are full of deep meaning.

When it comes to determining whether the bomb is real.

He Shangsheng wanted to gamble, he felt that he knew Hua Tsai, and that the bomb could not be real.

But Huang Qifa said: "If it explodes, I will be responsible. It's none of my business if it doesn't explode!"

Some people may think that this is just Huang Qifa's fear of taking responsibility, but in reality?
If we think about it carefully, what he did was actually the right way.

No one can afford the losses caused by the bomb explosion.

He Shangsheng asked him: "As a policeman, can you be brave?"

But is it a question of bravery?I believe that everyone has the answer in their hearts.

Huang Qifa is definitely not just a dispensable character who is responsible for making jokes. On the contrary, such a boss is what many police officers want.

He is not useless, on the contrary, his leadership ability is actually very strong, he does not know how to negotiate with the gangsters, but he knows how to find professional people to negotiate with the gangsters.

He will care about his subordinates, even if they are misunderstood as glass.

He'll protect dude even if the bomb is fake.

In terms of the plot of the movie.Crime, wits, police and robbers, these elements of the film, usually put forward extremely high requirements for the weaving of the plot.

How could the scene where Andy threw away the red toilet paper and was blown away by the wind, how could it not be moving?Another example is the dialogue between the doctor and Hua Tsai: "I don't think we will meet again", "It's just this life".

Isn't that kind of free and easy a familiar feeling?

Hong Kong island gangster films, in many movies, you will find that many characters, they are so free and easy about death, maybe this is also a unique feature of Hong Kong island movies?
Yes, it's a free and easy feeling, not the kind of heroism that is not afraid of death.

In addition to the unrestrained and open-mindedness shown by the characters in the face of death, the strong spirit of the world in the confrontation between the pros and cons, and the sympathy between the enemy and the friend allow people to temporarily put aside the conflict between good and evil , and concentrate on appreciating the purity and beauty of human nature, only when we abandon our own standpoint and imagine communication in a state of no social identity, can we feel a little spark of de-identified chivalrous spirit in the real world.

In fact, we can regard "Dark War" as a martial arts film with a modern skin. If you put He Shangsheng and Hua Tsai into the environment of ancient martial arts, you will find that there is no sense of disobedience.

Of course, there is also love.This is really a very big surprise.

As we all know, among Hong Kong Island gangster films, it is actually very difficult for us to really see large-scale love scenes.

Because guns are a man's romance. There are also not many plots involving love in "Dark War", but they definitely play the role of finishing touch.

It adds a sense of warmth to the whole movie.

Some people say that the love in the film is good to the point.But I think quite the opposite.

Because of this weightless love, it focuses on portraying the most beautiful part of love: encounter and heartbeat.As for ambiguity, holding hands, passionate love, none of them exist.In the hearts of each other, the man and woman are still mysterious and beautiful, but the tragic beauty of ending without a disease further defines this relationship as a lyric poem.This kind of encounter can be called an accident in the accident, so we believe that this kind of heartbeat is the pure in the pure.

It can be said that this encounter interprets the sentence: If life is only as it was at first sight!
It brings out the best of all, isn't that enough?
In the end, it is the main line of the film, the battle of wits between rivals!

For gangster movies, I usually expect more plot reversals and unexpected truths. If there is a reasonable logic, that would be even better.

But "Dark Wars" not only fulfilled all these, but also gave me a divine revelation, like a light tragedy, paying tribute to all the possessions in life that will eventually pass away.This lightness of escape from the gravitational pull of reality pervades the film and is especially captivating.Concern for the person you are interested in, respect for your opponent, these emotions that should be full of ritual, are all hidden in the ordinary day at the end of the film, on an ordinary bus, in a gossip conversation.

If "Infernal Affairs" gave us hope for the revival of Hong Kong films, then I think "Dark War" is the foundational work of Hong Kong films in the new era! "

(End of this chapter)