As you readers may be aware, here at Cine-Apocalypse.com, we are creating an A-Z of bad ass films which will take place over the course of the year, we already have The Yakuza for the letter Y and this time i bring a film for the letter K. My good friend Tim Porter has taken time out from making his first feature film to write a very in-depth look at John Woo's action masterpiece from 1989, The Killer. check out Tim's review after the jump..
Written By Tim Porter
Oh
boy do I have a task on my hands! Peter Osmond, a good friend and
colleague of mine has set the mammoth task of attempting to put into
words why I love this film so much. I can never truly do the film the
justice it really deserves but here we go anyways:
Ten
years on from first seeing it, the mark it left on me is nothing
short of significant. The mere sight of revisiting the production
idents take me back to the first time I experienced it, make no
mistake it is an experience. The sensation of being physically
overwhelmed by it’s sheer excitement, while at the same time moving
me to tears in it’s final movement is unprecedented. No film has
since engaged me quite like John Woo’s The Killer, which in my
opinion is nothing short of a masterpiece. I would even go so far as
to call it my favorite film of all time, bar none!
Without
‘The Killer’ there would for example be no lone mariachis, going
from bar to bar with guns inside of his guitar case. Other directors
like Besson, Tarantino, Jarmusch, Refn, even
Johnnie To have been influenced by this production in some capacity.
Think of the interplay between Natalie Portman and Jean Reno in
‘Leon’, which demonstrates another lone figure whom makes a
mistake. Leon realises that beneath the code of honor and the daily
routines he religiously lives, he has a heart and you cannot by any
circumstances have one in this line of work. This narrative is
borrowed directly from Woo’s film which was made five years before
Leon’s release.
‘The
Killer’ plays out with neo noir aesthetics. It’s dark, brooding
and bleak but retains some charming moments between the characters
which can be: romantic, funny and help balance out the material
making it not become one note. One of the more fascinating aspects of
the piece is problematizing the relationship between ‘hero’ and
‘villains’. In many ways we have parallel protagonists. Who do we
route for? Does it even matter? The audience identification becomes
unclear, making the films narrative more engaging and also showcasing
that: these individuals while being on different sides of the law are
in fact almost alike, they could even be brothers. These character
arcs are what raise the film for me from being a straight forward
action romp into a great film with real substance.
‘The
Killer’ also is the definitive definition of Heroic Bloodshed. For
those that are not familiar with the term, Heroic Bloodshed is
generally a film, which is made in Hong Kong, showcasing sequences of
prolonged action, which are usually graphic and operatic in their
staging. They are often compared to martial art films because of
their focus on extended action, which is integral in advancing the
plot. Rather than swordplay or extended beautifully choreographed
fight scenes, melodramatic techniques are adopted and played out with
brutal gunplay.
Themes
within these films focus on protagonist’s who are more often then
enough criminals. These individuals choose to live their lives by
codes of honor. Themes explored in films of this style showcase a
central anxiety of the disappearance of older values/traditions being
lost amidst the modernization of the city or the new generation of
upcoming criminals, who have no respect of values . An incident will
always be the catalyst for changes to the lives forever of the leads
and will have consequences long term for all involved. All of these
elements are present here.
It
has a strong concurrent of emotion, even in it’s action scenes
making the experience more gut wrenching as you truly invest in the
characters. These films usually end in a downbeat, tragic way. Our
lead protagonists are complex, not one dimensional. Each character
reveal a side of themselves, which initially you would not associate
with their image which can be perceived as ‘macho’. More times
then often their lives could have changed for the better. Yet just
like classic noir, their actions come back to haunt them and are
brought to a logical conclusion, one that the audience may not desire
but is more appreciated for the filmmaker’s not copping out.
Just
like with my analysis on the Tartan Asia Extreme brand, there is an
important combination of both East and West aesthetics and visual
techniques used to bring this project to fruition. Even in the
re-dubbing of this film, Ah Jong and Inspector Li’s nicknames are
changed to Disney characters, which is further prove of this. Just
like with the work of Kitano, the non judgmental, clear absence of
who is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, whilst also combining a marriage of
hitman/gangster films is truly significant to what came after it.
Replacing what would usually be seen in Wuxia films, specifically
that in the vein of the emotional climax of the Jackie Chan
production ‘Police Story’, the raw emotion and brutal sheer
aggression of that film is replaced with guns, blood and flying
doves, which in turn has spiritual connotations which can be compared
to the main characters, attempting desperately to run away. Sadly
they are confined in one big bird cage.
The
violence is beautifully stage, making you cheer and gasp with equal
measure. Woo in this film makes death look glorious. The final scene
in the church, which must last all of twenty minutes is a truly
enlightening, euphoric, brutal and worthwhile experience on the
viewer. The use of multiple camera set ups, slowing down of action
borrows heavily from the films of Sam Peckinpah. Interestingly
however Woo is not simply referencing his peers. Every device used to
present the action to the audience is justified and does not seem
like a series of cool actions scenes which are made to simply get
bums on seats. The time and progression of building tension,
atmosphere and character development make what must be around eight
scenes of pulp action feel like they go on for an eternity.
It
saddens me that just like with the Asia Extreme brand, Hollywood are
churning out remakes of definitive movies from the past, which have a
huge significance of radically changing genres and audiences tastes
in the process. ‘The Killer’ will be a 3D remake but undoubtably
lose all of its charm, overall effect and become another generic
cardboard cutout of a greater film, which was not originally in the
english language. This also might explain why we really need to see
the same film twice?
Backtracking
to my point that in my eyes this is the best film of all time,
obviously many will disagree with me. Some may argue that this film
is overly sentimental, manipulative and over the top, so what?
Throughout the history of cinema, especially that which are
considered to be the best of all time: ‘The Godfather’, ‘Citizen
Kane’, ‘Vertigo’ etc all use manipulative tools to engage it’s
audience in order to tell a story. Others will comment saying that
the story is unoriginal, even cliche. To some extent I can agree with
this point but what sets this apart from it‘s predecessors is it’s
masterful direction. ‘Hard Boiled’ for instance I would argue
pales in comparison to this film because of the lack of emotional
investment to the characters. Inspector Tequila for example: while
being an undeniable on screen bad arse, as a character I know that he
is untouchable, no one will stop him and nothing bad will ever happen
to him. He might as well simply be a superhero.
When
we compare Ah Jong to Tequila, on the surface he can be seen as the
perfect hitman, a loner who lives in separation from society and
religiously lives his life by a code of honor. He is untouched in his
profession until the moment he walks into the jazz club and
everything changes forever. We establish that he is ruthless when it
comes to his work, significantly that he has heart and tries not to
hurt innocent people in the process. His actions on this occasion
have consequences. While trying to protect Jenny, played by Sally
Yeh, her eyesight catches the muzzle flash from his gun accidentally.
It’s with this moment that we begin to realise that Ah Jong not
only feels regret from his actions but that in his own life there has
been an incompleteness. He is not perfect, he has problems and this
is what makes more of an interesting protagonist to invest in.
Ah
Jong agrees to do one more job in order to repair the damage he
caused to Sally’s eyes. Betrayal ensues and a complex love, male
bonding triangle/relationship occurs when Inspector Li, a young
determined police officer makes it his all to find Ah Jong. Over the
course of the film the situations and events become more intense with
each passing minute. Without giving the game away, Jenny caught in
the middle between these two men from each end of the law, oblivious
to the fact that one of the men, who she falls in love with is the
person who injured her at the club and is the reason she is going
virtually blind. A fight against tradition, values, love and respect
ensues and climax’s with a darkly funny but heartbreaking
conclusion which should leave you speechless.
I
will agree that Sally Yeh’s character is a tad bit one note, but
that is justified considering that she is vulnerable, scared and more
importantly alone. She is losing her sight bit by bit as the film
progresses and is the definition of innocence. She is the light which
can free Jong from his torment and regret. Ah Jong played wonderfully
by Chow Yun Fat in what is undoubtably the best performance of his
career, makes you truly believe that his on the path of redemption
and wants out of the game for good. Woo’s employment of
romanticism, stylizing the violence, engaging us with a character who
radically changes his morals and way of life because of the
consequences of his actions. He is neither good nor bad. While it’s
an accident, he still kills for a living and it’s his fault for
getting an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
There
is no denying it is a product of it’s time. Filmed in ninety two
days, at a cost of fourteen million Hong Kong dollars (the equivalent
of two million US dollars), ‘The Killer’ was considered the most
expensive production of it’s time. Sporting a body count of one
hundred and twenty, it’s easy for people to disregard this film as
nothing more than exploitation. Others will argue that ‘the
characters often look like icons instead of real people, and women
are only used for emotional manipulation’ (lovehkfilm.com). I have
to strongly disagree, not just because I am a fan of the film but
more so that how the writer from that site can call this a guilty
pleasure is completely mistaken. This is not Tommy Wiseau’s ‘The
Room’, John Waters ‘Pink Flamingos’ etc, for the majority of
the film it’s harrowing, touching but more so it’s tragic. I
guess it all comes down to: whether you buy into the conflicts and
acting on display whether you truly go with it.
I
am aware that I maybe not the right person to clique this film,
purely because of the emotional connection I have with it. It has
influenced me as a filmmaker and to this day, every time I watch it I
still feel exactly the same. Even if you are not a fan of action
cinema in general, you may well enjoy this film purely because it has
a heart behind the trigger.
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