Note: This blog expresses only the opinions of the blog owner, and does not represent the opinion of any organization or blog that is associated with RONIN ON EMPTY.
Round 1, Fight! Alex Man vs. Jacky Cheung in As Tears Go By
[Periodically, Ronin on Empty will be taking a look back at some Hong Kong cinema classics, albeit with a specific emphasis on “Great Moments” — i.e. classic scenes that no Hong Kong cinema fan (old or new) should miss. Of course, “classic” will not only entail super-cool, gobsmacking moments, but also the downright ridiculous stuff, too. The numbers — #1, #2, etc. — are not indicators of ranking, but merely a way to keep a running tally of how many “great moments” we can list here. Readers are welcome to send in their own fave scenes as well.]
From Ronin on Empty reader “Jason” comes a personal film pick that he wants to add to my ongoing “Great Moments in Hong Kong Cinema” column. Jason writes:
The confrontation between Tony (Alex Man) and Fly (Jacky Cheung) at the end of Wong Kar Wai’s “As Tears Goes By” deserves to be the next greatest moment. The movie also marked the directorial debut of one of the greatest HK director, and the rare collaboration of two of the biggest “teen wong” of HK.
In 2000, Aman Cheung Man directed My Name is Nobody, a surprisingly dark gambling film starring Nick Cheung and Shu Qi. Some viewers might have wondered, why is Nick Cheung’s character named “Nobody”? Is this a reference to the occasionally nameless swordsmen who populate Chinese wuxia books, movies, and comics? I’m guessing it is, at least partially. But the true origin for the name of this Wong Jing-produced film will take us on an odyssey of sorts, leading us from Hong Kong to the Italian West to the Greek Island of Ithaca.
If you have yet to see Derek Yee’s Drink-Drank-Drunk (2005), you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t really a film about the joys of alcoholism, despite what its title, premise, and pre-release advertising might have led you to believe. Instead, this romantic comedy centers on a beer hostess — Siu-Min (Miriam Yeung) who may be able to hold her liquor, but is getting a little long in the tooth for her job. Soon, she meets Michel (Daniel Wu), a globe-trotting chef specializing in French cuisine whose restaurant just isn’t connecting with the locals. While drinking his sorrows away, Michel ends up sleeping it off at Siu-Man’s apartment. After the impromptu sleepover, the two become fast friends and — not surprisingly — faster lovers.
The vast majority of my favorite authors share one distinguishing quality — they’re all dead. So unless the Umbrella Corporation unleashes a T-Virus on the graves of some of my literary idols, I don’t think I’ll ever have the chance to get Mark Twain’s autograph in person or pick Raymond Chandler’s brain (literally, if we’re sticking to this Resident Evil scenario) about his most famous creation, Philip Marlowe. It’s simply a fact I’ve come to accept.
However, there is one living author whom I would very much like to meet — Haruki Murakami. But seeing as how he lives in Japan and I don’t, the chances of running into the guy seemed somewhere between slim and none.
In April of 2007, Mr. Murakami made an appearance at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to kick off the annual Celebrate Reading: Book Clubs and Literature Festival. Unfortunately, I had already graduated from the University of Hawai’i and was in the midst of my first year at UC-Santa Cruz when he gave his talk. I was bummed out about it, but luckily, he showed up at UC-Berkeley to give another talk and accept the Berkeley Japan Prize. This time around, I got to attend his lecture. Murakami was an amusing, quirky, and engaging speaker, but unfortunately, I never got to ask him a question or get his autograph. Maybe next time.
I like Naoki Urusawa’s 20th Century Boys a lot, but I’ll be the first to admit that the initially easy task of having to explain the plot is getting exceedingly ridiculous with each succeeding volume. To give you a sense of the level of difficulty I’m talking about, let me try to summarize (without spoilers) — as clearly as possible — the events that form the basis of the plot for Volumes 9 and 10 of Viz’s snazzy English translation.
While the South Korean film Mother begins and ends with a character dancing, all is certainly not merry in Bong Joon-Ho’s 2009 thriller. The film centers on the plight of an unnamed single parent (Kim Hye-Ja) who is raising a mentally-challenged, twentysomething son named Do-Joon (Won Bin). When a young girl in town turns up dead, a key piece of evidence points to Do-Joon as the killer. Hauled in for questioning by the local police, the mentally-handicapped young man signs a confession (offscreen, I should add). Presented with an open-and-shut case — a key piece of evidence tying Do-Joon to the crime, a credible witness, and now an illegally obtained confession (at least in US terms — not only is he mentally handicapped, but the cops physically threaten him) — these overworked, totally unethical “public servants” decide they’ve found their man and refuse to explore other angles. It may be completely understandable, but that doesn’t make it right.
As some of you may have noticed,Ronin on Emptyhas not been updated in more than a month. Prior to this steep drop off in productivity, I had been updating my blog on an almost daily basis, as I was intentionally trying to fill the void between LoveHKFilm.com’s closure and its eventual return. To some degree, I achieved that feat, but I meant for this increase in activity to continue beyond the main site’s re-opening.
Not only did I have the intention of writing more, but I also had the means, opportunity, and motivation to do so. Sure, I had an impending cross-country drive from California to Oklahoma. And yeah, I’d be heading to Michigan a couple weeks later. But I was prepared for how the trip might negatively impact the blog. In advance of the drive, I’d written a few rough drafts that I’d planned to polish for future use. At best, I’d post them using the free wireless at the various motels on our road trip. At worst, Ronin on Empty would go on a three-to-four day break. After that, I’d be back to my regularly scheduled blogging.
Well, life had other plans.
Unfortunately, due to reasons beyond my control, Ronin on Empty has been closed — and will be, at least for the time being. Now, I know what you’re thinking: like Webmaster Kozo’s once frequent, presumably tongue-in-cheek threats to quit LoveHKFilm.com, you’re probably wondering if my hiatuses — for school, for summer vacation, for general burnout — are turning into some kind of unintentional running gag. And perhaps these announced breaks were in danger of becoming a recurring, unfunny joke, but the reasons for this latest absence are all-too serious.
A family crisis of some magnitude has compelled me to return home. I’m hesitant to even discuss it online, largely because the gravity of the situation is difficult to convey in words, much less deal with in the real world, so please pardon me for my reticence. Some may be surprised that anything at all is going on with me, as I’ve maintained a veritable mask of normalcy on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. But the truth is, things have been far from normal lately.
Days before my road trip, my Dad was diagnosed with leukemia. He’s been hospitalized at OU Medical Center for more than a month with various additional health complications. It’s been said that “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” and I have to admit my family has seen some dark days in the last month or so. No words can express how bad it was.
But I’m also happy to report that, in the last few days, we’ve just seen the dawn on the horizon. We’re just waiting for it to shine through. I have confidence that it will. As things develop, I’ll keep you posted.
Until next time, I leave you with a bonus installment of my running column, Great Moments in Hong Kong Cinema. It’s from a little movie called Chungking Express, one the very best films Wong Kar-Wai ever made. If you haven’t seen this movie and you’re a reader of this site, please do yourself a favor and rent/buy/see it now. The ending won’t mean much to you out-of-context, but for those who have seen the film, you’ll know that it ends on a note most Wong Kar-Wai films don’t.
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