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 haven't made any secrets of my admiration when
it comes to the works of one Johnnie To. The man behind such excellent
cinematic fare as "The
Mission", "PTU",
and just recently "Breaking
News", has elected to give us not one but two films in
2004. Of all the filmmakers currently churning out product for the
moneymaking whores of Hong Kong (i.e. movie producers), Johnnie To, when
he's working solo, is as close to a surefire bet for cinema lovers as
you'll liable to find. Needless to say, I've made it a point to see
everything the man does. Blind devotion, you say? Guilty as charge and
proud of it.
"Throw Down" is set around the world of
Judo, but it's by no means about Judo. The film opens with young buck Tony
(Aaron Kwok) arriving at a nightclub to challenge the owner, Sze-to (Louis
Koo), to a fight. Sze-to was once a Judo champion of some renown, but for
reasons unknown has since given up the sport. Now a shell of his former
self, Sze-to spends his nights liquored up and his days stealing from a
nutty gangster in an effort to keep his club doors open. Sze-to has
neither the time or the inclination to give Tony the fight the younger man
wants. In a twist of fate, Tony ends up working at Sze-to's club along
with aspiring singer Dreamer (Cherrie Ying), a young woman who, befitting
her name, is a dreamer come hell or high water.
In a nutshell, "Throw Down" might just be
Johnnie To's best film to date. It's a perfect blending of the slick style
he's known for and the deep substance he's oftentimes been accused of
lacking. "Throw Down" is certainly his most emotional film, and
even the movie's comedic moments come across not as slapstick, but humor
built from a foundation of sadness. But the movie's most gorgeous moment
has to be a sequence in the middle, as Sze-to and Dreamer are running from
thugs and the money they worked so hard to steal flies out of their hands.
Overlaid with a haunting soundtrack, the sequence serves more than just
style, it mirrors the cracked hopes of Sze-to and Dreamer.
The motif in "Throw Down" is shadows. The
world has become dark for Sze-to, and when he's moving in them, we realize
that it makes no difference to him. It's only when Sze-to drifts
periodically back into the world of Judo that light returns. In the
movie's first well-lit sequence (more than 50 minutes into the film) we
find Sze-to standing before a building where a Judo tournament is being
held. He's back in the light because he's back in a world that he
cherishes, and not the bleak environment of his nightclub, or the brittle
darkness of his current existence.
As with many of To's films, the script for
"Throw Down" is sparse, and although there is probably more
subplots here than in previous films (the almost singular plot threads of
"Breaking News" and "PTU" comes to mind), the film is
still economical with its time, running just short of 90 minutes. And as
is the case with most of To's films, it pays to pay attention to the
little details; this is a filmmaker that wants an interactive audience
that will fill in the holes themselves. Lazy or inattentive filmgoers need
not apply.
More of an emotional tour de force than an action
film (and in fact there's very few scenes one would consider
"action" in the sense of "action movies"), "Throw
Down" features an outstanding performance by Louis Koo ("Love
on the Rocks"). A broken down man, Koo's Sze-to is a fish
drowning in water. In another twist, it's Tony's persistent challenge that
makes Sze-to realize who he was, and not who he is. Add to that the
re-appearance of Sze-to's master, who is preparing for a final match to
save his dojo. The master's appearance further illuminates the futility of
Sze-to's existence, and just how low and for how long this man has fallen.
Even worst, Sze-to knows it more anyone else. As Sze-to, Louis Koo is a
revelation.
Not that Aaron Kwok, fresh from "Heat
Team" (a bubbly, self-indulging enterprise compared to
"Throw Down"), is chop liver. Kwok is entirely believable as
Tony, the brash youngster with the skills to back up his challenges. Kwok
brings energy to what might have been a depressing film about people
crushed by the world. Not that Dreamer has allowed her spirits to be
stamped out just yet; perhaps seeing Sze-to in his current state only
spurs her to be even more defiant in the face of reality. In many ways,
she stands literally and figuratively between Sze-to and Tony -- she's
already lost Tony's youthful exuberance, but has yet to submit to Sze-to's
hopelessness.
Without a doubt, I believe "Throw Down" is
Johnnie To's best work to date, and considering the man's cinematic outputs
throughout the years, that's saying a lot. It's not an action film by any
means, and if anything I would classify it as drama with doses of
fighting. But the Judo, while excellently choreographed, is a means to an
end. If "Breaking News" satisfied the action junkie in me with
its relentless pursuits and gunbattles, then "Throw Down" filled
my soul.
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