Director To Qifeng, who likes to challenge various types of films, seems to have a soft spot for detective films in recent years. Following the good reputation of "Detective" a few years ago, this year, "Blind Detective" was launched strongly, and continued to play smart cards. In addition, To Qifeng and Andy Lau, Zheng Xiuwen, Wei Jiahui, and You Naihai, the two major galaxy images of the Iron Triangle, came together to create this summer's few Chinese film circles.
Andy Lau's somewhat subversive and cute appearance proves that the king has thrown off the burden of idols and expanded his play in an all-round way, and has a tendency to evolve towards the old play bones, and Zheng Xiuwen's stupid role as always shows once again, compared to "Song of Everlasting Regret". Pretending to be a work of B, a female man is definitely more in line with her temperament. And Wei Jiahui's wonderful narrative and You Naihai's ghostly horses and horses give the film more "Galaxy" labels. Coupled with Du Qifeng's ability to successfully mix various elements together, it is not difficult to imagine that the success of this film is really well deserved.
At the beginning of the film, the name list of the cast and crew that flashed in the black screen naturally transitioned to the first-person subjective perspective of the blind detective himself, quietly showing To Qifeng's level as a Chinese-speaking director, giving the whole film a wonderful entry. point. After that, the gray and cold picture tone and the nostalgic decadent street scene, while in line with the plot narrative, can't help but find clues that are consistent with the director's previous works.
The film revolves around the search for Xiao Min, the missing friend of policewoman He Jiatong played by Zheng Xiuwen during her school days. During the period, there are the murders in the corpse and the disappearance of the lovelorn woman. The tension of the plot reaches a climax after another. Stay tight. At the same time, this case-in-case model presents the "blind detective" Johnston's unique case-solving skills and reasoning ability to the audience step by step. During the period, a emotional drama that seemed to have nothing to do with the main line played a good role in adjusting the tension and creating humorous elements. It is a pity that the two mainland actors, Gao Yuanyuan and Guo Tao, are incompatible with the overall strong Hong Kong-style style of the film, causing the audience to instantly appear in the play. But in view of the strict co-production policy on the mainland, this is a good choice out of no choice, at least compared to Zhao Benshan and Xiao Shenyang in "The Grandmaster", these two are still much more reliable.
On the contrary, the former national volleyball player, Zhang Ping's cameo appearance in the 2004 Chinese women's volleyball team in Athens, was quite surprising. The performance without lines avoids the flaws of acting, and the laughter of the oversized women's shoes and the first echoing technique make this sportsman's role of the master impressive.
Johnston's crime-solving skills depend first and foremost on nuanced observation. Abandoning the complicated illusions in front of you, the detection based on hearing, smell and even taste is often easier to approach the truth. Another trick, which is also the highlight of the whole film, is the personal interpretation of the crime scene, from which to figure out the psychology of the perpetrator and the victim. The dialogue between the detective and the victim through the imaginary picture shows the director and the screenwriter's ability to schedule and subconsciously describe the scene very well. This is reminiscent of the Japanese reasoning manga "Puppeteer Detective Sakon". It's just that Zuo Jin only needs to use ventriloquism to make the puppet in his hand play various roles, and the realistic effect Johnston pursues often tortures A Tong to death, and it seems that there is a difference in realm. If you let the star of the King of Comedy with Stanislavsky's book in his hand see it, he can't help but praise: In fact, you are all actors.
The final climax came suddenly and briefly, and the role of the charm of the plot twist in the suspense film was magnified to the highest point. The film seems to discuss the deeper topics of the spiritual level. The same circumstances and endings of the three generations of grandparents are more clear than the meaning of reincarnation, which is the fragility and tragedy of human nature. When the persistence of love encounters a heartless opponent, they wave the butcher's knife to do justice for the sky, and they also send themselves into the abyss of hell that can't be saved. Xiaomin has already reached the point of life and death because of giving birth, but the violence in her heart still makes her choose to pick up the butcher's knife. How can this desperate madness have anything to do with sweet love? In the ending, Xiaomin's birth seems to have left a bright tail, but she doesn't eat strawberries but insists on mangoes, just like her mother and great-grandmother. When she grows up, who knows if she will return. The beginning of another tragedy?
This film is mixed with various elements such as suspense, police and bandits, humor and love, but it does not give people a sudden feeling, especially the funny interspersed in the tense plot, which has become the iconic feature of To Qifeng's films. The cameo appearances of many golden supporting roles in Hong Kong films, and even the fleeting tricks, are quite familiar. This design not only aggravates the "Hong Kong-style" taste of the film, but also brings small surprises to the audience. And the little humor inadvertently revealed in the details is like watching the cooking program on TV that learns to make braised fish in horror, and Zheng Xiuwen's funny duck steps and duck workers' voices, reminding people not to forget , Du Qifeng is a nonsensical film veteran who has directed Stephen Chow's films "The Dead Judge" and "Jigong".
To Qifeng's versatile skills in various types of films, he is hardly a second person in today's Chinese film industry. But the high output of two to three films a year on average makes people worry about whether he is overdrawing his talent. After all, in this era of declining Hong Kong-produced films, there are very few that allow us to relive the glory of Hong Kong films in that golden age.
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