After watching the entire film, my expectations were well rewarded. The Shinjuku incident tells the story of a Chinese who smuggled to Tokyo, Japan to work as an illegal worker, and finally became a gang boss with his own efforts and eventually died in a foreign land. It was originally a very sensitive and marginal subject, and I was wondering if Director Xiao Bao would take advantage of this subject for transformation. However, as the progress progressed, the director still made the whole story return to the path of traditional Hong Kong films.
And the comeback is pretty awesome.
The focus of the first part of the play is also on showing people struggling to live in Tokyo. Naturally, the excellent performances of Jackie Chan and Wu Yanzu cannot be bypassed here. The transformation of Jackie Chan's eldest brother is quite successful, and a real northeastern man is ready to appear under his interpretation. Wu Yanzu has proved himself in many films, and this time the role is richer, giving him a lot of space, and he has not disappointed fans. The honesty and timidity before, and the morbid exaggeration at the back are all performed in a three-pointed manner, and the scene of breaking the hand is even more explosive. Under the reasonable rhythm arrangement of the choreographer, the slightly sad and uprooted mood permeates all around. It has a bit of a literary feel to it.
In the second half, the sword turned and brought out the skillful and easy-to-use narrative techniques and routines of Hong Kong films. A story of a low-level little person similar to "The Emperor of Shanghai" and "The Lame Man" through struggle to become the boss of the gang is presented in front of us. The bridge is always a little old, but it works very well. I also watched this episode with enthusiasm, it felt like I was back in the era when hero films were rampant. Very happy.
In the final battle, there are no extra gorgeous fighting skills and moves. But the ruthless fight fits the style of the whole film. Everyone was moved by the feeling that everyone was fighting for territory in order to survive and there was no way out.
The rhythm of the whole film is well controlled. With a group of powerful supporting characters, the style is unified and the tension is full. So that you don't have a moment of leisure time to wander. Full of classic Hong Kong movie style. Here I will talk about the lineup that surprised me, Lin Xue, Gao Jie, etc., all of them are first-class acting. The confrontation with the main character is very charming. Including Xu Jinglei, Fan Bingbing, the flower vase is very good.
When watching this film, I always unnaturally think of "Pole Tracking" directed by Xu Anhua, which is also a film about Chinese people seeking life in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It left an indelible impression on me when I was young. And "New" is a heavy engraving on the existing traces.
The director of the film said that when it was released in the mainland, it could not be compromised because he did not want to compromise.
Applause, for that kind of style.
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