If it weren't for the movie mentioning the place name "Nanyang" again, I don't think I would remember that my hometown is also part of "Nanyang". Baidu Encyclopedia has two explanations for "Nanyang", one is the area of Southeast Asia, and the other is from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong south of Shandong are called "Nanyang". From the specific reference of the film, "Nanyang" refers to Chaozhou, which is located in the southeast of Guangdong Province, because the dialect "Nanyang" in the film is Chaozhou. It is worth mentioning that Wu Xihao, the character prototype of Lai Hao, actually came from Shantou.
The first time I heard Chaozhou dialect in front of the big screen, I was undoubtedly extremely excited. To be honest, when Donnie Yen uttered the Teochew dialect that he worked hard to learn, even if it was a little unnatural, I was still moved to tears. This is a normal emotion of a homeless wanderer about his mother tongue. And when there are some dialects of Teochew that are quite dialects in the movie dialogue, I couldn't help laughing out loud. I think, before "Chasing the Dragon", people who don't understand Cantonese can say that classic Cantonese slang; after "Chasing the Dragon", people who don't understand Teochew can also say that classic Teochew dialect The foul language, in order to maintain civility, I can only reveal that the meaning is exactly the same as the foul language in a certain sentence in English. This seems to be a little proud, I smiled slyly, after all, Donnie Yen repeated that foul language 10+ times, and the subtitles only typed the words "Fuck you", hahaha, I can only laugh at myself. I guess Donnie Yen probably didn't know that dialect was vulgar, anyway, it didn't hurt.
In addition, the dialect words also include the iconic address "Jiaojiren" or "Jiaodiren", the iconic greeting "eat porridge", the iconic prayer "Blessed by the Buddha", and so on. Forgive my input method can not type Teochew special words, only free translation of Chinese characters. To be honest, as people overseas hear Chinese, a sense of intimacy follows.
The dialect is one thing, the taste of Laogang films is another.
It is true that since the beginning of the 21st century, Hong Kong films have been in decline. Even old directors such as John Woo and Johnnie To have not been able to save Hong Kong films and return to their peak. I still remember the Young and Dangerous series, Hong Kong police and gangster films that I loved to watch when I was a child. When these classics became more and more old classics, I was a little scared. I was afraid that it would disappear or the taste of Hong Kong films would change. , There are also such concerns about martial arts films.
Fortunately, last year's "Three Young Masters Sword" by Xu Laoguai made me see the dawn of the end in the martial arts film, and now Wang Jing's new work "Chasing the Dragon" has really brought back the taste of the old Hong Kong film, with bare-chested tattooed hands. Street gangsters with kitchen knives, mops and sticks, street scolding between gangs and then scuffles, Hong Kong riot police in the familiar light green uniforms and shorts, very down-to-earth and very folk old streets in Hong Kong, and chartered public rental women As well as the overcrowded charter houses, daily food pineapple buns, daily drinks bubble tea and daily transport ferries, old Hong Kong buses and old cars, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, women wearing cheongsams and smoking cigarettes, and so on. I have to mention that there is a large number of old Hong Kong actors, in addition to one male and two males, there are Fat Cat, Tang Zhenye, Huang Rihua, Jiang Haowen, etc., which are really full of memories. Wang Jing has made movies for more than 30 years, and "Chasing the Dragon" is estimated to enter the top ten.
I am satisfied with the structure that approximates two male protagonists without female protagonists. Of course, Donnie Yen is definitely the male No. 1, and Andy Lau has more roles than the so-called male No. 2. The movie reminded me of "Once Upon a Time in America", which is also a group of brothers who started from the bottom and fought in the underworld and eventually died one or two times. I didn't think of "The Godfather" just because I was not familiar with it. Of course, the comedy color still exists, after all, the director of this gangster film is Wang Jing. I agree with Wang Jing's use of fast switching scenes to tell a relatively long period of time in a few minutes. As a result, the atmosphere will rise. I'm also very convinced about the soundtrack throughout the whole chapter, which is just right. As for photography, there is a scene that no one else can forget. Amei held her son's hand and floated unconsciously in the river, a tragic color suddenly appeared. I am very grateful that Wang Jing does not overly provocative in any provocative place, and stops when it is time to stop, and touches on the point where it is not necessary to provocative. , but there is no urine point throughout the whole process, and the audience can't stop.
The gangster film has its own gangster's love, this love, the love is as deep as the sea, this righteousness, the righteousness is thin in the sky. Lai Hao and Lai Luo from the initial appreciation, to the grace of saving lives, to working together to dominate Hong Kong, and then to mutual suspicion and eyeliner, and finally to rescue each other in times of danger, regardless of you and me. This kind of friendship is real brotherhood. In this gangster story, there are no decent characters. Laihao is the villain who is on the stage, and Renault is the villain lurking in the right way. They secretly collude and support each other, thus leading the black and white. As for the ending, both Lai Hao and Lai Luo's development routes respected the fate of the character prototypes. One was released from prison in advance by amnesty for terminal cancer but deteriorated rapidly and died, and the other died after escaping pursuit in a foreign country for decades. The last phone call from Canada back to Hong Kong, those few polite words that seemed to be friendly, were actually called true friendship and true brothers. And when the lame man turned his head, the visions of his dead brother and his wife and children appeared in front of him again, and he felt bad. A repeated line, "Life and death are fate, wealth is in the sky", although it is a bit forced chicken soup, but for this story , is also quite reasonable.
Regarding the morality of the gang, there is another detail that I would like to enumerate. Ah Hua, who was rescued by Lame Hao as a child and sent to Thailand for training, changed her name to Rose and returned to Hong Kong to help Lame Hao. In the end, she was shot in the shootout. After lying on the ground and giving Lame Hao a grateful smile, she climbed up. When he got up and continued to shoot and resist, the screen switched to a young A Hua shooting and was shot to death. The strength and morality of the little girl, I have to say, these few seconds are enough to shake people's hearts.
To sum up, I haven't seen such a gangster movie for a long time. The rhythm is well grasped, the editing is done without leaving room for drama, almost no love cards are played, almost no sensational scenes are interspersed, and some are just brothers between men and men. Love, regardless of you and me, cherish each other. Worth watching again after the official release!
(ps may be the skin of the little fresh meat Hua Zairong under the Grizzlies, one of the two major gangs I prefer. I always feel that the only three-second bed scene in the whole film is so succinct, a little unhappy... Hua Zirong also showed his upper body and underwear when he flirted with Rose, and it was no longer than three seconds. Then his head was cut off and he was given a lunch box. Bell……)
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