Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive

Memorable mixture of surreal comedy and drama by Wayne Wang, about a stranger from overseas on a mission in Hong Kong - but he's not quite sure what the mission is. During the process he wanders around the city and gets caught up with a variety of dodgy, weird and alluring characters.

Semi-documentary material (interviews, animal slaughter) is inserted throughout, giving "Life is Cheap..." an intriguing texture. Memorable for possibly the longest foot chase sequence in the history of movies, ending in the infamous and now demolished Walled City near the former Kai Tak Airport.

Not a movie for everyone by any means (especially not the blinkered MPAA ratings board), but those who love Hong Kong and its movies should make the effort and hunt down this strange, near-forgotten little movie. Fans of "Pink Flamingos" will connect with the penultimate scene.

Director Wayne Wang's return to modern Hong Kong (the Final Frontier at the edge of China) is a scattershot quest for cultural identity in the Wild Wild East, spiced with casual displays of scatology and copraphogy (illustrating the lengths to which traditional Chinese will go to maintain face). The ersatz plot line, in which a frustrated currier fails to deliver a briefcase to a mysterious crime lord, is little more than incohesive filler interrupting a series of mock-documentary encounters with various local characters, in episodes that might have been more effective if they were genuine. Scripted cinema verité is an oxymoron, and even with directorial assistance (from writer/star Nakasaka) Wang is too polite a filmmaker for this type of narrative deconstruction. Highlights include some striking photography and editing, and an exhilarating (if pointless) chase that finally captures that elusive spark of vitality missing from the rest of the film.

This was one bizarre flick. And yes, that foot chase was so long I was winded watching it. But anyone into "arty" films should definitely check it out. Some of the scenes remind one of the Mondo films from the '60's. This came out in America in that wave of NC-17 films. Wayne Wang is a director who clearly should be better known. The narrative of this film can be a little confusing. Also there are some graphic scenes involving bodily functions. Anyone who has been to Hong Kong might be able to relate slightly. I also enjoyed seeing the late Victor Wong in his brief scenes as a semi-tour guide. Try to catch it in a theater if possible. I own the video but I was able to see it at an art theater in Tokyo as well.