大只佬
I watched "Running on Karma" yesterday on TV8. I have to say there could be better ways to spend a Sunday night. The movie is a mix between oriental sci-fi and horror with a central theme of East Asian "cute" idealism - maintain world peace and don't kill people.
Andy Lau is "Big", a disgustingly muscular ex-monk who has the supernatural ability to see the "karma" - ex-life, cause and consequences, things like that - of anyone who's about to die. He helped cop girl Cecilia Cheung (Li Fengyi) capture murderers and saved her life multiple times. But Li's still gonna die because of bad karma in her last life as a Japanese soldier. Feeling indebted and amorous towards Big, Li decided to end her life in a meaningful way. She went into the mountains where Big used to dwell as a monk to try to look for a guy Sun Ko who killed Big's monk-time girlfriend, a Jade. Next she went missing, leaving behind a Blair-Witch-styled video showing up to herself getting dragged off and killed. Big went in search for her, did some excavation and uncovered her headless corpse; then turned around and saw the head hanging among leaves. After the cheap jump scares, the plot rapidly thickens. Big spotted Sun Ko but found later that they were the same people or something. Big didn't choose to kill Sun Ko, probably trying to end the "karma", so the latter disappeared. Next Big stayed in the mountains for 5 years and found the real Sun Ko, brought him back, and became a monk again. However, he has lost all his brawn.
Once again I who am not good at getting movie plots had not much clue to what the ending meant. It seems like a popular IMDB explanation amounts to something like: after Jade's been killed, Big split into two persona, the muscular Big who went to HK and was kind and helpful; and a crazy, hatred-filled Sun-Ko-like Big who remained in the mountains. It was the latter who killed Li and who confronted the muscular Big afterwards. Or Li wasn't really killed, but killed in the mind of the alter-ego of Big for the bad karma she suffered. Or Li was killed by the real Sun Ko but played out in the mind of the good Big as being killed by his alter-ego. Or "Wearing clothes you haven't washed for 5 yrs is just plain disgusting. "
Anyways... confusing and got scared for nothing. When will HK movies stop using cheesy special effects and jokes to get away away with the audience? There's always an immensely hopeful amount of plot-weaving in the first 30 minute after which everything just comes out in the open. Clues left around are either unconvincing or irrelevant. With this one they try to throw in a reasonably hopeful storyline (come to think of it isn't karma a topic that appeals to the western audience as well?) and be mysterious about it. To tell the truth, the ambiguity and symbolism might just got a little out of hand. Too much was left for interpretation. And Andy Lau is just not fitting for philosophical roles... He just looks too romantic. And all male leads in HK movies just cry out for romantic partners. Or is it just my prejudice?
Andy Lau is "Big", a disgustingly muscular ex-monk who has the supernatural ability to see the "karma" - ex-life, cause and consequences, things like that - of anyone who's about to die. He helped cop girl Cecilia Cheung (Li Fengyi) capture murderers and saved her life multiple times. But Li's still gonna die because of bad karma in her last life as a Japanese soldier. Feeling indebted and amorous towards Big, Li decided to end her life in a meaningful way. She went into the mountains where Big used to dwell as a monk to try to look for a guy Sun Ko who killed Big's monk-time girlfriend, a Jade. Next she went missing, leaving behind a Blair-Witch-styled video showing up to herself getting dragged off and killed. Big went in search for her, did some excavation and uncovered her headless corpse; then turned around and saw the head hanging among leaves. After the cheap jump scares, the plot rapidly thickens. Big spotted Sun Ko but found later that they were the same people or something. Big didn't choose to kill Sun Ko, probably trying to end the "karma", so the latter disappeared. Next Big stayed in the mountains for 5 years and found the real Sun Ko, brought him back, and became a monk again. However, he has lost all his brawn.
Once again I who am not good at getting movie plots had not much clue to what the ending meant. It seems like a popular IMDB explanation amounts to something like: after Jade's been killed, Big split into two persona, the muscular Big who went to HK and was kind and helpful; and a crazy, hatred-filled Sun-Ko-like Big who remained in the mountains. It was the latter who killed Li and who confronted the muscular Big afterwards. Or Li wasn't really killed, but killed in the mind of the alter-ego of Big for the bad karma she suffered. Or Li was killed by the real Sun Ko but played out in the mind of the good Big as being killed by his alter-ego. Or "Wearing clothes you haven't washed for 5 yrs is just plain disgusting. "
Anyways... confusing and got scared for nothing. When will HK movies stop using cheesy special effects and jokes to get away away with the audience? There's always an immensely hopeful amount of plot-weaving in the first 30 minute after which everything just comes out in the open. Clues left around are either unconvincing or irrelevant. With this one they try to throw in a reasonably hopeful storyline (come to think of it isn't karma a topic that appeals to the western audience as well?) and be mysterious about it. To tell the truth, the ambiguity and symbolism might just got a little out of hand. Too much was left for interpretation. And Andy Lau is just not fitting for philosophical roles... He just looks too romantic. And all male leads in HK movies just cry out for romantic partners. Or is it just my prejudice?
posted by Azzurra | 8:25 PM
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