One of the fascinating things
about words (aside from the power they can wield; I do believe they can be
mightier than the proverbial sword) is their ability to be misunderstood. I’m not simply referring to the varying
extents of people’s vocabularies and the confusion that can cause. I’m talking about the misinterpretation of
words, and how people react to such misinterpretations. For example (and I am completely stealing
this from local radio personality John
Webster, so if he happens to be reading this [which is doubtful], thanks
and sorry), if you say, “throw the cow over the fence some hay before you
leave,” the syntax is funny, first because of the mental image it immediately
conjures (throwing a cow over a fence, at least momentarily), and second
because we know these words don’t go in this order, and we love to laugh
(however lightly or cruelly) at the mistakes of others.
Another way misinterpretation can
be a positive is in its ability to inspire.
A great many writers mis-hear phrases, and it stimulates something in
their brains that ignites an idea for an essay or story (I’m thinking
specifically here about Harlan Ellison as
the first author from whom I heard this [as the impetus for his story Jeffty is Five], but I also think it’s
one of those innate skills/quirks of scribes, seasoned and neophytic). This leads into this week’s film, Tony Liu Jun-Guk and Chan Lau’s Angel Terminators 2 (aka Huo
Zhong aka The Best of the Lady
Kickboxer), which is one in an avalanche of Hong-Kong-produced films whose
English subtitles are so literal they’ve become a trope in and of
themselves. You get such gems as, “You
shall be responsible if I suffer loss today,” “You come only now?” and “Hey,
you’re nut.” This oddity doesn’t detract
from the quality of the better-made Hong Kong films, but it does add a layer of
fun to both accomplished and less polished efforts alike. Thankfully, this film falls in the former
category.
After cops Great Aunt (Sibelle Hu, who wears sweat pants
almost exclusively while on duty) and Bao (Jason
Pai Piao) bust up a robbery, they head on over to the local prison. Bao’s daughter Bullet (Yukari Oshima, who also wears some tragically baggy pants throughout
the film) is being released, but she wants nothing to do with her old man. Bullet’s best friend Chitty (Moon Lee, who we first see wearing a
sweatsuit, notice a trend here?) and a gaggle of friends show up and take her into
their care. But vile gangster Mad (Anthony Cho Cheuk-Nin) entangles
himself in all of their lives, and the only way out is through blood.
One of the things this “girls
with guns” film has at its heart is a theme of bonds between people (like a
great many Hong Kong movies). Great Aunt
and Bao are tight as partners. She is
the loose cannon, while he is usually the voice of reason (though he can
certainly handle himself in a fight).
It’s a trait she admires in him, and she looks up to him both as an
equal and (I got the impression) a surrogate daughter. Likewise, Chitty and Bullet are best friends
from way back, and they look out for each other to the extent that Bullet will
defy people she probably shouldn’t (and this points to a key aspect of her
character, as well). Their friendship is
primarily expressed physically in the fights in which the two girls seem to
take great delight (with other people, not one another).
But for how alike they are in
that respect, Bullet and Chitty are different in how they relate to their actual
families. Bullet unrepentantly hates her
father and displays her disdain openly (and considering her reason, you can’t
really blame her). Bao tries to reach
out to his daughter, but his apparent lack of emotion, his detachment from what
family means, and his belief in duty over all, only helps keep the two at
odds. Consequently, Bullet joined a gang
in her youth and sought some form of acceptance in that lifestyle (this is never
developed outside of a plot point, but it does make a certain sense for Oshima’s character). Conversely, Chitty’s Uncle Tiger (the late,
great Lo Lieh) is a retired
gangster, and Chitty does her best to make him believe that she is straitlaced
(she changes into demure eyeglasses directly before seeing him). For how much she rebels, however, Chitty
cares a great deal for Uncle Tiger. She
has what Bullet doesn’t have (more precisely, what Bullet rejects) – a family –
and so, she is a kind of substitute family for Bullet. As you may have guessed, these relationships
become bonded by blood in a very actual sense, and it is in this way that the
film resonates, as the best heroic bloodshed films (and action films in
general) do.
These bonds and
interrelationships carry over into ideas of individuality and conformity. Chitty rebels in her friendship with Bullet
and their skirmishes together, but she plays the part of a nice young woman for
her uncle. She wants to fit the mold she
perceives as the norm, to please others over herself. Bullet is fiercely independent, though she
has to rely on her friends for support.
At one point, she tells Chitty, “If you don’t resist, others will beat
you,” and this is the summation of her character from start to finish. This is
not necessarily a philosophy she picked up in prison, although it would
certainly aid in surviving on the inside.
It’s a wall she has built up over time to protect herself from harm:
hurt others before they can hurt you. By
that same token, Bao is the model of conformity (and the film does make a point
of emphasizing aspects of the British colonialism extant at the time of its
production; so, there’s that). While
Great Aunt does act out in the same sort of way that Bullet does, she is able
to be reined in to some extent by Bao and the powers that be. Ultimately, it’s the two characters between
the extremes (Chitty and Great Aunt) who will decide how they choose to live
their lives for themselves and benefit from the lessons from both ends of this
spectrum.
The fight choreography in Angel Terminators 2 is truly
outstanding, and the participants (particularly the three main female
characters) are a pure joy to watch (while I suspect there may have been some
undercranking used to speed up the fights just a little, and if it wasn’t,
color me even more impressed), and they are liberally sprinkled across the
runtime. The filmmakers, in the Hong
Kong tradition, use stylistic flourishes to emphasize the kinetic
characteristics of their action scenes with Dutch angles, quick tracking shots,
slow motion, low angle shots, and wide angle lenses all thrown into the mix
rather smoothly. Also as is the norm in
Hong Kong action films, the story brings up plot points that it forgets about
and reintroduces them much later on, granting them more emotional weight than
they probably should have for their lack of development. Ergo, its pace moves in fits and starts in
spite of the frequency and velocity of its action beats. Despite its deceptive (some would say
“sloppy,” and to be fair, I would probably prefer the term “ambitious”)
structure, there is a ton to love about this film, and any fan of action films,
foreign and domestic, should give it a whirl.
MVT: Yukari Oshima carries a
lot of the film’s weight with a constant intensity that impressed me, her
magnificent martial arts skills notwithstanding.
Make or Break: Coming as no
surprise to anyone, the Make for me is a scene towards the end involving
Bullet, some Molotov cocktails, and a very large knife. The first shot by itself was enough to
engrain it in my head until the day I die.
Score: 7/10
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