Movie Review: Gallants/打擂台

I had passed up a chance to see Gallants/打擂台 at the HKIFF this spring. Unless I know that the festival version is going to more complete than the theatrical version (i.e. Shinjuku Incident‘s Category III premiere versus its IIB theatrical version), I prefer to watch films with their intended audience.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy premieres, but listening to actors’ friends gassing up their friends who are both on the screen and in the cinema is not the same as listening to a roomful of people who paid for the privelege of seeing the movie.

Besides, you can bring beer into the Dynasty, unlike the Convention Center…

Most recently, I have seen Dream Home and Once a Gangster in this double-down fashion. It is very enlightening, because you can learn a lot about the audience.

Even if you see a film at the Dynasty.

In an extremely odd situation, the Gang of Film (電影人幫) was su pposed to watch Gallants/打擂台 at the Dynasty with co-director Clement Cheng, who had made Kozo’s acquaintance at Udine.

Kozo explained the Dynasty Rules to him, but Clement was unfazed.

For those of you who don’t know, the Dynasty is where we see films that don’t seem to rate a better screen or an environment in which we are expected not to make jokes and/or hurl invective at the screen. Wong Jing  and Dennis Law films are ‘mandatory Dynasty.’

I’m not sure why we were going to the Die Nasty, since several of the Gang of Film had seen Gallants/打擂台 and sang its praises. Maybe Mr. Cheng wanted to see how bad we could be. Who knows?

As it turns out, Clement couldn’t go, but we had a bumper-crop Gang that night, including all the regulars (me, Kozo, Amy, Shelley, Kevin, Paul, and Tim), as well as Seth and Yung Yung.

I was glad, because this film deserves the biggest audience it can get. Gallants/打擂台 is a film that charmed me ever since I saw its trailer.

I was showing this to my chiropractor’s receptionist and she said “Waaah! Such an old movie!” So I knew that the trailer was working.

Oh, and that trailer kicks the sh*t out of both ‘volumes’ ofKill Bill.

Like a lot of people my age who have any interest in Hong Kong cinema, I spent many a teenage Saturday nursing a hangover watching Kung Fu Theatre. Watching that trailer makes me very, very nostalgic for those movies whose ragged charm are a part of why I am sitting in Sha Tin today writing this.

Besides, Gallants/打擂台 has Chen Kuan Tai.

He deserves to be in every movie he can.

Even My Wife Can Fight.

**Even Murderer.

Because he dies before the stupidity takes over.**

Gallants/打擂台 is a story about a young man (Wong Yau Nam) who travels to a village to settle a property dispute and lands in the middle of a feud between two factions over the ownership of a teahouse that was formerly a martial arts school. The sifu has been in a coma for 30 years. There is treachery afoot. What will happen?

**What do you thinkwill happen?

Fights! Comedy! Action!**

I was veryglad I saw this with a regular audience.

**Even the chain smoker to our left who took Chan Wai Man’s onscreen observation about not smoking in a gym as a sign to light another cigarette.

This film is funny without Cantonese, but apparently with it** Gallants/打擂台 becomes even funnier. The audience were frequently laughing loud and long, and even though I didn’t get it, I was just happy to see and hear the film connect so well.

Physical comedy abounds, and the principals are adept enough at it to really sell it well. The audience was impressed too. Even the Marlboro Man.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, partially because there’s not too much of it, but also because I’d rather talk about the actors.

Strong performances all around makes this a film that overachieves a great deal. There’s no quantifiable reason for the film to be as good as it is, but I am very grateful that it is.

In a broad sense, the film is a love letter to the old Shaw Brothers movies. Cast members like Turbo Lo Meng, Yum Yum Shaw, and Chen Kuan Tai are here, and seeing them onscreen in Hong Kong, in a Hong Kong film, is absoultely great.

Turbo, Leung Siu Lung, and Chen Kuan Tai can still convince you of their martial arts prowess even at their age. I was very impressed with their action work. I was also impressed with the Shaw-esque use of zoom and freeze-frame used to highlight the action (and comedy).

Teddy Robin turns in his best performance in years as the sifu who seems to have a hard time understanding that 30 years has gone by. He is by turns funny, crude, and motivational, but always great.

Among the younger stars, Wong Yau Nam brings life to a character that could easily end up being flat. His comic sense is getting better all the time, and he’s rapidly becoming an accomplished comic actor.

JJ Jia handles her role with skill and charm (meaning she’s nice to look at for two reasons), and manages to have some presence in a role that is rather tangential.

MC Jin can do a pretty good Bruce Lee imitation, and his lines (and facial expressions) are very funny. Also playing a small role, he nevertheless makes his presence known.

In closing, let me be realistic for a moment .

Gallants/打擂台 is a very low-budget film. It’s biggest stars haven’t shined in a long time. It’s story is derivative.

And its one of the best Hong Kong movies you will see this (or a lot of other) year(s).

It’s smart, energetic, engaging, funny, amusing, and will remind you just how good Hong Kong movies have been and can be.

I can’t remember the last time I felt so entertained without having to worry about getting rid of stripper’s revenge.

I can’t (and don’t want to) exhaustively explain how and why this movie is good. Because I want you to see for yourself. It’s qualities will be more than self-evident.

This movie deserves our support. It’s a movie like they used to make. It will make you believe in Hong Kong movies again. Stop looking at the computer and go see this film.

**

I want to thank the whole cast as well as Clement Cheng and Derek Kwok for making a great film, and I hope more people go see it in theatres and buy it on DVD.**