Life Without Principle looks like a crime film, plays like a morality tale, and unfolds during one of the most significant events in recent world history. It should come as something of a relief that it is not a violent potboiler, a moralistic sermon, or a political social study. In the hands of respected auteur Johnny To, it is so much more and a completely entertaining jot in filmmaking. Out now on DVD from Vivendi Entertainment after playing a few US film festivals, but failing to receive even a limited North American theatrical release, hopefully this movie will find an enthusiastic audience waiting, it should easily appeal to a large number of viewers with many different interests and open minds.
Set, as it is. with the recent global economical finical meltdown as a back drop. The plot has three different story lines converging as three desperate people's paths cross on the frantic day of the collapse of the Greek government. Taking place in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong, police inspector Cheung (Richie Ren) is investigating the murder of a loan shark, while dealing with a number of personal crises of his own. His wife, Connie (Myolie Wu) is desperate to buy a condo out of their price range, his father is terminally ill, and has left him custody of a young sister, that he never knew existed and who's mother has run off.
A low level, but loyal to a fault triad member named Panther (Lau Ching Wan) tries in vain to get his incarcerated boss, Wah (Siu-Fai Cheung) bailed out of jail, when he comes to the aid of another friend, Lung (Philip Keung) who has made some very dangerous back room deals with triad money.
Last is Teresa (Denise Ho), a bank employee being pressured to meet her quota of new investors and finally pushed to the point of near deception to snare potential investors before a twist of fate makes her future even more uncertain.
The story isn't a preachy one, even though we deal with gamblers, crooks, thieves, swindlers, and other morally ambiguous characters. We get inside their motives, some are greedy, some are honest, some are steadfast, all of them are victims of circumstance, some will win and some will lose. We get a more full understanding of what happens when average people must abandoned their principles too survive.
In the last decade or so producer-director Johnny To, unfairly dismissed at times as being the HK "Jerry Bruckheimer", has developed a strong following with his mostly superb crime thrillers. Titles like the Cannes film festival Palme d'or nominated Vengeance (2009) and Election (2006), with their mixing of elements from American film noir, French new wave, and Hong Kong heroic bloodshed movies. Life Without Principle is somewhat of a departure, it's more in the ambitious style of a Wong Kar Wai film, but many of his themes and stylistic techniques are visible. Also, real hardcore devotes of To's should be aware of his penchant for slipping into other genres at will, including comedies, superhero flicks and dramas, Chow Yun Fat even won a HK Oscar for To's child custody tear jerker All About Ah-long.
Appropriately apathetic camera work and astute editing from Sie-Keung Cheng and David M. Richardson, respectively, two frequent collaborators of To's. They keep the film flowing at a breakneck speed, even when the events sometimes seem rambling or disjointed. These fluid filmmaking techniques also help the movie to over come it's sometimes stodgy opening moments to arrive at a satisfying slow burn of a conclusion.
Life Without Principle is a prime example of the fine film work that is still coming out of Asia, that all too often goes ignored in the western world. Filed with relevant situations and a full understanding of our current global financial situation, not to mention strong amiable characters, even if they are lowlifes. This is the kind of good quality filmmaking that I think a lot of movie goers crave, but can't always find, maybe that's because some of these fine films are being relegated to the backs of the continuously vanishing video store.
Set, as it is. with the recent global economical finical meltdown as a back drop. The plot has three different story lines converging as three desperate people's paths cross on the frantic day of the collapse of the Greek government. Taking place in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong, police inspector Cheung (Richie Ren) is investigating the murder of a loan shark, while dealing with a number of personal crises of his own. His wife, Connie (Myolie Wu) is desperate to buy a condo out of their price range, his father is terminally ill, and has left him custody of a young sister, that he never knew existed and who's mother has run off.
A low level, but loyal to a fault triad member named Panther (Lau Ching Wan) tries in vain to get his incarcerated boss, Wah (Siu-Fai Cheung) bailed out of jail, when he comes to the aid of another friend, Lung (Philip Keung) who has made some very dangerous back room deals with triad money.
Last is Teresa (Denise Ho), a bank employee being pressured to meet her quota of new investors and finally pushed to the point of near deception to snare potential investors before a twist of fate makes her future even more uncertain.
The story isn't a preachy one, even though we deal with gamblers, crooks, thieves, swindlers, and other morally ambiguous characters. We get inside their motives, some are greedy, some are honest, some are steadfast, all of them are victims of circumstance, some will win and some will lose. We get a more full understanding of what happens when average people must abandoned their principles too survive.
In the last decade or so producer-director Johnny To, unfairly dismissed at times as being the HK "Jerry Bruckheimer", has developed a strong following with his mostly superb crime thrillers. Titles like the Cannes film festival Palme d'or nominated Vengeance (2009) and Election (2006), with their mixing of elements from American film noir, French new wave, and Hong Kong heroic bloodshed movies. Life Without Principle is somewhat of a departure, it's more in the ambitious style of a Wong Kar Wai film, but many of his themes and stylistic techniques are visible. Also, real hardcore devotes of To's should be aware of his penchant for slipping into other genres at will, including comedies, superhero flicks and dramas, Chow Yun Fat even won a HK Oscar for To's child custody tear jerker All About Ah-long.
Appropriately apathetic camera work and astute editing from Sie-Keung Cheng and David M. Richardson, respectively, two frequent collaborators of To's. They keep the film flowing at a breakneck speed, even when the events sometimes seem rambling or disjointed. These fluid filmmaking techniques also help the movie to over come it's sometimes stodgy opening moments to arrive at a satisfying slow burn of a conclusion.
Life Without Principle is a prime example of the fine film work that is still coming out of Asia, that all too often goes ignored in the western world. Filed with relevant situations and a full understanding of our current global financial situation, not to mention strong amiable characters, even if they are lowlifes. This is the kind of good quality filmmaking that I think a lot of movie goers crave, but can't always find, maybe that's because some of these fine films are being relegated to the backs of the continuously vanishing video store.