A close friend of mine once said that if he could go back to any point in time he would want to see the infamous Kowloon walled city, a place in Hong Kong that was once the most densely populated area in the world with around 33,000 people living in an area barely a hundredth of a square mile. It was an incredibly dangerous and lawless place to live and it’s astonishing to think a place like this once existed. If you look up the photos of the place, you’ll know what I mean. In learning more about Kowloon I came across the name of this film, but it was still in-production at the time. I had completely forgotten about it until a few weeks ago when I saw that it had come out online. I decided to watch it on a whim, just to see how they depict the walled city. And I gotta say, this is the best action film I have seen this year!
The story revolves around Chan Lok-kwan (Raymond Lam) a Chinese refugee in Hong Kong in the 1980s who is looking to make enough money to buy an ID card. He tries to get money from an underground fighting ring, but gets cheated out of his money by a triad boss Mr. Big (Sammo Kam-Bo Hung). He eventually steals Mr. Big’s drugs and unknowingly runs into the Kowloon Walled City, an area run by the triad boss Cyclone (Louis Too). That’s pretty much all you need to know, but there is quite a bit of backstory involved with this and cool twists and turns that keep the story exciting when punches aren’t being thrown.
Watching any action film from Hong Kong, you would expect the fight scenes to be spectacular and this film really delivers. The camera work is smooth and the fight choreography feels visceral with just the right amount of over the top-ness to make you go “Ooooo” every now and then. There is a fantastic introduction scene for Cyclone where he flicks a cigarette he’s smoking into the air, beats someone into the ground, and then flips back onto his feet with just enough time left to catch his cigarette before it falls to the ground. If this was a scene in an Indian film, most likely a Rajinikath film, the theater would’ve exploded. And there are many extremely well executed action scenes in the film.
The most surprising aspect of the film is its screenplay. In an age where stories feel stretched out into sequels, prequels, and long-winded TV shows, here is a film that tells a rich story without padding its runtime. At just about 2 hours, this is an incredibly efficient film that feels like a crime epic without an epic runtime. This film does a remarkable job at juggling a number of unique characters with intertwining interests and secrets. I had no idea where this film was going in terms of it’s story and I quite enjoyed the twists and turns it took. I will admit there is a plot point that just feels like coincidence and fate, but in a film that works so well otherwise I’m inclined to forgive it.
I had also worried if this film would fall prey to using its location superficially. But no, the film really takes care in depicting what the Kowloon walled city would’ve been like back in the day. You get a feel for how compact and messy this place was. How it feels as though someone is always watching. How dangerous and fragile it is. Setting this film in the walled city gives a unique feeling to the film and ends up becoming an allegory for the idea of community over individuality, something seen in many Hong-Kong and Chinese films.
Overall, this is a film that I highly recommend. It’s a much deeper film that first impressions may give off and it’s certainly worth your time. I’ll also be learning more about director Soi Cheang as this is a film, while highly popular in Hong Kong, could’ve easily slid under the radar here in America.
