Une nuit à Mongkok

They say that New York is the city that never sleeps? Well obviously whomever came up with that phrase never set foot in Hong Kong, or much less set foot in Mongkok.

As an avid fan of Asian cinema and Hong Kong cinema, and having lived four years in Hong Kong and going shopping twice or thrice a week in Mongkok, it was with some interest that I sat down to watch "One Night in Mongkok". And it was really nice to sit and watch the movie and recognize the occasional place and location, that was a trip down memory lane for me. However, I think that the movie essentially fails to fully show just how populated Mongkok really is, which would be essential, especially as they proclaim that it is the most densely populated place in the world as the movie comes to an end.

Anyway, the story in "One Night in Mongkok" was a bit jumpy and going to and fro, and never really fully closing up the story lines that it opened up. The movie was trying too much, but didn't fully manage to accomplish all it was setting out to do. I was left with a bit too many unanswered and unfulfilled things in the movie that I would have liked closed or brought to peace.

If you are familiar with Hong Kong cinema, then you will see a bunch of known (and somewhat familiar) faces. They had put together a rather good ensemble of actors and actresses for this movie. Normally I am not a fan of Daniel Wu (playing Lai-fu) as he usually comes off a arrogant and aloof, but he actually managed to put on a great performance in this movie, and I think, that it is actually, to date, the best performance I have seen him do. However, he wasn't alone in carrying the movie alone; Cecilia Cheung (playing Dandan) and Alex Fong (playing officer Milo) really helped the movie along as well. It was nice to see Cecilia Cheung in a more serious and mature role than what she usually do (which is basically romantic comedies).

"One Night in Mongkok" is a rather brutal and honest movie, that cuts straight to the bone and doesn't wrap things in plastic. This is the story of people making a living in the seedy underbelly of the flashy and neon-lit streets of Mongkok. But it is more than that; it is also the story of Mainland Chinese trying to get by in Hong Kong, and trust me, the Hong Kong Chinese does treat the Chinese from China as if they are lesser beings, sadly enough (yeah, I have seen that type of racism when I lived there). But more importantly, it is also a story of being human and trying to get by with the cards that you are dealt by an often unfair and harsh life. And, of course, it is a story of 'cat after mouse'.

"One Night in Mongkok" is good entertainment, combining action with drama and suspense. And it actually comes together well enough for a full story, though there are bits and ends hanging here and there unfinished and unanswered. But in overall, "One Night in Mongkok" is a good movie. And if you like Asian cinema with a story that is a bit more compelling and in-depth than your average action and Kung Fu movie, then "One Night in Mongkok" is well worth picking out for a watching.

Set over the course of three days and two nights, One Night In Mongkok sifts through several stories weaving together the joint themes of fate and sin coupled together with the violence that is inevitably associated with the genre. While being heavily praised, and winning various awards at the ever increasingly dubious Hong Kong Film Awards, One Night In Mongkok is a pretty timid affair, which sacrifices continuity, gripping characters and more over a worthy plot for pretty cinematography and an over inflated sense of self important philosophy.

Throughout the duration of its two hour course, Mongkok shows promise sporadically as it never maintains the gritty integrity that it does eventually manage to capture in varying moments. The distaste for the film derives from an extremely languishing start which crescendos into a severely incoherent plot that will make the most ardent Tartan Asia Extreme fan scratch their heads in bewilderment. That's not to say the plot is incomprehensible, merely that it jumps around from scene to scene veering off at random tangents away from established story lines to eventually, and only just, making 'a' point of sorts, but never arriving at the destination from which it set off from in the first place. The director does show that he has a penchant for framing a shot, and indeed highlights his ability to create stirring and gripping moments which do provide something fresh to the crime thriller genre. However, fifteen minutes of footage is not sufficient enough to compensate for a severely Luke warm story which sets itself out as a different prospect from its contemporaries, but comes across as severely generic.

That which is most infuriating about the film, is the fore-mentioned sense of self importance. While ostensibly a crime drama, Mongkok quickly descends into a morality tale of quite obvious proportions, and chooses to opt for brashness instead of subtlety when it comes to sledgehammering its point across. What point you ask? Again, the point is fairly well devised to an extent, but is extraordinarily generic, as it claims that 'good guys' are not always righteous as they appear, and that nor are the 'bad guys' as unemotional as they may be perceived to be. It also throws around a sense of karmic justice as the "it's fate would have it....and so would sin" line resonates off key throughout the films latter stages, therefore providing a justification for the director to cram home the 'twists' and 'turns' (the apostrophe's denoting a sarcastic appraisal of the terms).

The director, Tung-Shung Yee comments on the social failings of the police force in Hong Kong, which culminates in a wonderfully constructed scene involving a bungled arrest turned cover-up by the police. Unfortunately his spoken text, the passing down of 'wisdom' from senior police officer to his junior proves to be a double edged sword, as it provides for the irony in the films closing moments. The problem with Mongkok is that Yee wishes to have his cake and eat it. He cannot decide whether or not he should be praising the police, or condemning them, making the audience sympathise with Lai Fu and then be forced to feel little for him. It's indecisive cinema which aims high but punches well below its weight.

The main problem with Mongkok lies in that it does try to be a successful piece of cinema, it tries to be a blistering affair, and to be fair it does succeeds, but to the annoyance of the viewer only momentarily. There are unnecessary moments throughout this film like the battering ram philosophical approach or the unnecessarily chrome start to the film when the cinematography throughout is crisp and well composed. Its chopping and changing story is severely unrefined, and while the story itself can be perfectly understood it provides for rather static viewing when the story need be flowing. One Night In Mongkok sets its aims high, and that cannot be taken for granted, for rather a failed film with noble intentions than a profitable success which will forgo the integrity. But what really grates is the incessant comparison by Film Review, lower brow newspapers and certain IMDb reviewers with the simply brilliant Infernal Affairs. Having been swayed initially by the extract on the front which compared Mongkok to Infernal, I find myself not disgusted just severely disappointed with the effort. I steadied myself for a rip-roaring epic, a film worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Infernal, and I got an Infernal Affair for all the wrong reasons. To be frank there are much grander films in the Tartan Asia collection which supercede this effort, A Bittersweet Life springs instantly to mind, and while the film may appeal to some it lacks the longevity to truly compete with which it sets out to emulate. By all means have a look but you'll be checking out once you realise that one night truly is too long a stay in Mongkok.

This film opens with a minor confrontation between two groups in Hong Kong; this leads to a car crash that kills the son of a local gang leader and hospitalises a young woman. He calls in a man from Mainland China to get his revenge. This man, Lai-fu, has another reason to come to Hong Kong; he wishes to find his fiancée, who has gone missing. As he searches he crosses paths with other gangsters and ends up rescuing a prostitute, Dandan, who was being beaten; this leads to her staying with him throughout most of the film. Meanwhile the police have heard that a killer has arrived in the territory and they are determined to find him.

I really enjoyed this Hong Kong crime drama. The characters are less clichéd than one might expect; the 'killer' is surprisingly sympathetic and the police are morally ambiguous. Filmed in Mongkok the action feels real... I particularly liked a scene where a police sidearm is discharged in a confined space and those present are left with ringing ears; something I'm sure would happen but I don't recall seeing in other films. The film is fairly gritty for the most part but it still manages to provide some unforced laughs which nicely lighten the tone... and make the darker moments all the more shocking. The cast does a fine job; most notable Danial Wu and Cecilia Cheung as Lai-fu and Dandan. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Hong Kong crime dramas.

These comments are based on watching the film in Chinese with English subtitles.

The tension building is quite successful. The direction is suspenseful, atmospheric, and assured. The audiences just keep wondering what would happen next from start to finish. There are four acts. The first act is a slow setup. There are three enthralling action sequences in the rest three acts, each of which has its buildup and climax.

A simple street fight over a girl turns into a car chase which leaves one of the drivers dead. The dead driver is none other than Tiger, son of criminal gang boss Tim. Tim sits down with rival gang leader Carl, who's men caused the accident that killed Tiger. However a parley turns violent as Tim strikes out in revenge – killing Carl's man but letting him escape in the confusion. The police are called into the middle of the investigation as a dangerous standoff between the two gangs commences. Meanwhile Tim calls in fixer Liu to bring in a hit-man (Lai Fu) to take out Carl. The police get word and it is a race against the clock to stop Lai Fu as they know that another death will spill the standoff over into all out gang war.

Although it benefits from praise and high voting from users who have mostly probably sought it out and thus have likely voted with the air of "everything foreign and little seen is cool", this thriller is still a solid proposition that is worth a look. The plot is a little messy perhaps but the layers of action are interesting as we follow hit-man, cops and criminals all living out slightly different parts of the same story. This creates a strong foundation as I found each character interesting and I was as taken by Lai Fu as I was by Milo. Likewise the film keeps a relative tension as the clock ticks down and the net tightens around Mongkok and Lai Fu.

The downside is that both aspects take away from one another. It is not totally a character driven film because it is making sure that it remains a cop thriller; but conversely it isn't as tight a thriller as it could have been because it has the characters forming part of the narrative and does break up the flow and the urgency. This means it is not as good as it could have been but the two aspects do still work well together and it is engaging enough even if it does occasionally fall short of the mark. Director Tung-Shing does a great job in the delivery, shooting everything in a stylish fashion as well as using music (and silence) to good effect. The cast are mostly strong as well with Fong, Wu and Cheung tending to be the strongest turns. Lam's Liu is amusing while Milo's men are mostly well played.

Overall then, perhaps not as strong as the praise here would have you believe but I suspect that the nature of it being foreign and not that well known has bought it some good will and forgiveness from those that have seen it. The mix of thriller and characters give it a good balance but one does detract slightly from the other, preventing the film from reaching its full potential in either aspect. Still good as a whole though and I found it a solid, if not brilliant, thriller.