Tiao zi a bu la

Cop Abula is the first film, as far as I know, directed by Khan Lee, the brother of Ang Lee. It is a by-the-numbers police yarn redeemed by good performances, a sense of humour, and some nice accents.

Abula is, you may have guessed, a policeman in Taiwan. Most of his department are corrupt. He is a widower, but has a teenage son with whom he is struggling to see eye-to-eye. The two main story arcs concern a very pregnant mainlander who has arrived in Taiwan illegally to look for the father of her child. The other main story has to do with a criminal gang - the same one paying off most of the police department.

Storywise, there is nothing much new here, but the actor playing the sloppy-but-honest Abula plays his role with relish, contributing immensely to the enjoyment of the film. The gangsters are very stereotypical, especially one of the pony-tailed, strutting thugs, and the cigar-chomping, wine-tasting boss. Li Yu, who plays the pregnant Xiao Qing, also does an excellent job with her rather sympathetic character.

A variety of accents are on display, which is of additional interest for those who like to hear regional varieties of language, and this is one of the distinctly Taiwanese aspects of the film, which is otherwise quite light on social commentary, apart from showing something of the fate of illegal immigrants from the mainland.

All in all, not a bad film, though very standard plot-wise, the title character is quite engaging, and dominates every scene he is in, lifting this film from the predictable to the enjoyable.