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About Ah Long" is another
Hong Kong
classic which has been given the digital remaster
treatment by Joy Sales on DVD. The film was
originally released back in 1990, when it was
hugely popular with audiences and critics alike,
winning the Best Actor prize for a young Chow Yun
Fat at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The film marks a
rather different effort from director Johnny To,
which sees him tackling heartfelt family drama
rather than the explosive action and triad
thrillers ("Election",
"PTU")
for which he would later become known.
At the heart of the film is
the relationship between the titular Ah Long (Chow
Yun Fat) and his young son Porky (Huang Kun
Husen), who lives together in Ah Long's rather
squalid apartment. Ah Long works on a construction
site, having given up motorbike racing after
crashing and injuring his leg. However, the job
doesn't bring in much money, and so one day he
sends Porky to audition for a role in a
commercial, little knowing that the director is in
fact Sylvia (actress Sylvia Chang, who also wrote
the film's script and starred in many other Hong
Kong classics, such as the "Aces Go
Places" series, and who directed the likes of
"20 30 40" and "Princess
D"), his estranged girlfriend who he has
not seen for ten years since he was sent to jail
and she went to the U.S. with her mother.
Unbeknownst to Sylvia, Porky is in fact her son,
whom she was told died at birth, and she finds
herself having to come to terms not only with him,
but with Ah Long, especially in the light of her
impending return to the U.S.
To's direction is tight, and
despite the fact that the film covers a lot of
emotional ground and character development,
"All About Ah Long" progresses
convincingly and smoothly. Similarly, although the
central conceit, of a woman seemingly unaware that
she has a son, may seem somewhat far-fetched, it
is dealt with in a believable manner and without
dwelling pointlessly on who is to blame for the
deception. Indeed, the film as a whole enjoys an
air of realism, and as a result it is far more
than either a melodramatic custody struggle or a
simple tale of man's quest for redemption. The
film is frequently amusing, though not intrusively
so, and this light hearted approach works very
well, helping both to endear the characters to the
viewer and to make the proceedings engaging in a
wonderfully entertaining fashion.
The main characters are all
well drawn and given an uncommon level of depth,
and To does not shy away from showing their faults
as well as merits, especially, and crucially in
the case of Ah Long, who is shown in flashbacks to
have been a genuinely nasty piece of work. As a
result, the viewer genuinely cares for him, Sylvia
and young Porky, and the film shows a heartfelt
sense of honesty throughout which is impossible
not to be moved by. Although the plot does become
somewhat predictable in its later stages, by this
time the viewer has been drawn into the story and
the fates of the characters to such an extent that
this is barely noticeable, and does not detract at
all from its considerable impact.
The film is anchored by a
marvelous performance from Chow Yun Fat, with his
role here being completely different than his
usual suave charmers, though he does have a few
opportunities to flash his trademark charismatic
grin. The actor shows his great versatility, and
the film serves as en excellent reminder that he
is capable of far more than simply playing
immaculately dressed killers. Young Huang Kun
Husen is similarly impressive as Porky, in a role
which won him the Best Supporting Actor award at
the 34th Asian Pacific Film Festival. As is Sylvia
Chang as the torn Sylvia, her moving turn ensuring
that the viewer never sides wholly with Ah Long,
and for which she won a Best Actress nomination at
the Hong Kong Film Awards.
"All About Ah Long"
is firmly rooted in the eighties, from the bouncy
synth music to Chow Yun Fat's wild bouffant, which
resembles that of Jackie Chan in "Drunken
Master" (it should be noted that his is by no
means the most ridiculous coif on show, with that
honour going to Sylvia's assistant Peter, who
sports a bizarre female mullet). This gives the
film a pleasantly nostalgic feel, though without
being heavy handed, as well as adding a sense of
time and place and again helps to ground its
characters, further underlining the basic humanity
which drives the story. It is this which truly
captivates the viewer, and which makes the film an
entertaining and moving classic which should be
enjoyed by all viewers.
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