"Keys to Freedom" is a pretty decent drama/thriller that owes its appeal to a well-ellaborated plot and the charm of its cast. Nice
drama, interesting action sequences and some romance in the air, but we're mostly involved in the mystery of who's after a secret package that
contains the keys from the title.
As Hong Kong is about to make a transition to Communist China ruling, many businessmen are interested in obtaining passports to flee the
place, and such passports can be obtained through the black market. Among the wealthy people is lawyer Jonathan (Omar Sharif), married with
a medical doctor (Jane Seymour); his friend a British police inspector (Denholm Elliott); and a powerful Chinese mobster (Richard Law). The
mystery package is brought by young Charles Fu (Sam Christopher Chan), a college kid who makes some errands on the side, and after returning
from San Francisco along with former literature teacher Mitchum (Jim Youngs) - who doesn't know about the scheme and he's only in Hong Kong as
a traveller - the duo gets brutally attacked in a nightclub and here begins the search for the package, a series of crimes, and the involvement
between the lady doctor and the young American professor. David Warner plays a dedicated investigative journalist drawn to the case.
The plot isn't so complicated as it sounds, yet it's hardly predictable (I could never predict Fu
surviving a terrible beating). The social/political issues are a little bland, with the doctor providing assistance to poor refugees outside
of her hospital work. It doesn't move the story all that much, just proves an opposite point about the people all over Asia who want to enter Hong Kong.
The little romance is alright, but we've all seen better. The music score is a little laughable, especially when there's some running involved (poor
teacher goes through hell trying to save his life).
A fine watchable movie, with enjoyable performances from everyone but I must give credit to Ric Young as the right hand of Elliott's inspector.
Usually typecast in villain roles (but always in a memorable way) Young delivers something special as the correct lieutenant. Or maybe because I was
expecting him to be the corrupt cop and he wasn't. But he was good.
On a deeper level it deals, in a near Hollywood-esque format, with the ideals of the pursuit of freedom, finding a better place to live and
the fight against social injustices. You won't see much realism about the way things are conducted, but on the other hand it's easy to imagine a scenario
similar to the one featured here happening in reality. 8/10.
