You Dazhi's "Dark Flower" was released in 1998 and starred Liang Chaowei and Liu Qingyun. He received 5 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards that year, and both actors were nominated for Best Actor for this film. The title "Dark Flower" means that the underworld gang privately offers a reward for someone's life.
I. Macau Storm: The two tigers are competing, and the "dark flower" has quietly opened
The story of the film takes place in Macao in 1998, there are two major local gangsters, one is the Hong Xing gang that has been entrenched for many years and has deep roots, and its boss is a cold personality and a watertight Ji Ge. The other is the up-and-coming Yiying Gang, whose boss George has rapidly recruited and strengthened its strength in recent years, and has the potential to compete with the Hongxing Gang.
In the face of George's challenge, Kiko naturally did not want to show weakness, and the open and secret struggle between the two sides lasted for eight months, and violent and bloody incidents occurred repeatedly, which made the entire Macao people panic and the business became increasingly depressed. This annoyed Mr. Hong, the co-boss behind the two gangs. He put out words to "clear" Macau and let Kigo and George get off the horse.
Upon hearing the news, both Kiko and George realized the gravity of the situation, and they immediately sat down at the negotiating table and reached a temporary alliance to ensure that Mr. Hong could not catch the excuse of pulling them down. But at this moment, the "dark flower" that Kigo wanted to pay five million to buy George's head suddenly flowed out of the jianghu.
The film unfolds at such a turning point in which the contradiction intensifies.
Second, the clouds of doubt are thick: the gangster undercover police force, involved in three murders
Ah Chen, played by Leung Chao-wai, is an undercover agent installed by Ki Ge in the police force. After the news of the "Dark Flower" broke, Kigo quickly left Macau in order to avoid the wind, and before leaving, he instructed Achen to use his status as a police officer to abolish the killers who wanted to take the "Dark Flower" to ensure that he would not carry the black cauldron of assassinating George. Ah Chen actually showed panic and panic in the eyes of Ji Ge, who had always been calm and calm, and couldn't help but wonder in his heart, "An old guy who has not returned to Macau for more than ten years, where can he go?" ”
At the same time, a bald mysterious man named Yao Dong, played by Liu Qingyun, also arrived in Macau, carrying an Adidas sports bag with a "dark flower" tattooed on the back of his neck. Ah Chen encounters Yao Dong while investigating suspected killers around Macau.
Yaodong witnessed a group of policemen led by Ah Chen beating a suspected killer in a restaurant, and not only was he not afraid, but he even talked on the phone casually. Achen noticed the bald head in a denim jacket, thought he was no good, and threatened him to leave Macau immediately.
After Achen left the restaurant, he suddenly received news that a headless corpse had been found in his home, and the corpse had the number "107" written on its hand, which was the first suspense point of the whole film.
Ah Chen then came to one of Kigo's subordinates, Uncle Xiang, to deal with a traitor in the Hongxing gang, because he had previously made rumors that his boss had indeed released five million "dark flowers" to buy George's head. They want to interrogate this traitor to find out who is behind the frame-up of Kigo. Achen's interrogation technique was extremely cruel, and he pried up ten of his fingernails with iron nails.
On the other hand, Yaodong came to the nightclub to see Young Master Rong, the son of Ji Ge, and said that he had come to get the "dark flowers" released by his father. This made Young Master Rong furious and pulled out his gun to kill Yao Dong. However, Ah Feng, a "drunken" escort girl on the side, spat on Ah Rong's hand, and the nightclub owner loudly rushed out to beat the round and took Ah Rong away.
Yao Dong then left casually, and also scared away the three Ah Rong's men who were following him through psychological warfare at the elevator door, reflecting his ability to understand human nature.
Yao dong coming out of the nightclub met Ah Chen again, and Ah Chen sent someone to escort Yao Dong to the taxi to the dock. Shot straight to the head by the police, Achen sped the speed to 120 miles, then hit the windshield with his head and left the steering wheel with his hands.
This series of desperate operations made the police on the side completely dumbfounded, and Yaodong punched the police and got out of the car to leave. This scene shows not only Yaodong's calmness and coldness, but even has a nihilistic side.
At this time, Ah Chen received news that the owner of the nightclub was shot and killed, and the dancer Ah Feng said that she had seen Ah Rong kill him. Because George of the Yiying Gang will return to Macau tonight, and the news of the previous "Dark Flower" has been well known, in order not to aggravate the contradiction between the two sides, Ah Chen forced the dancer Ah Feng to push the charge to the bald yaodong.
Ah Chen then went to Ah Rong and asked him to go to the police station to receive protection, so as not to wait for the Yiying Gang to take revenge. However, Ah Rong did not accept Ah Chen's proposal, and he had a shootout with him in a bar and fled.
Yaodong put the sports bag he had been carrying in his hand in a locker at the Macau Pier and was subsequently arrested by the police in the lobby. Uncle Xiang told Ah Chen that before the gang traitor died, he said that it was Ah Chen who told him to put "dark flowers" everywhere.
Ah Chen, who had always been quite confident before, suddenly felt as if he had been caught in a huge conspiracy. Back at the police station, he found five million "dark flowers" in a woman's leather bag under his desk, and it was obvious that the person who laid it out behind his back had made it his main target.
In the police station cell, Ah Chen beat Yao Dong with an iron rod. Although he had not yet found out who was behind it, he was not stupid, he already knew that it was the dancer Ah Feng and Yao Dong who joined forces to frame him. Yaodong is still calm and self-assured in the face of Ah Chen's beating, he said that he is just a pawn of Mr. Hong, in fact, he is far less brave than Mr. Hong, dare not to put Mr. Hong in his eyes, but he is afraid that he has been unconsciously installed by Mr. Hong's people around him.
Because, just as Ah Chen raised his gun and pointed it at Yaodong, a little brother next to him who followed him in black and white suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. This made Ah Chen instantly realize how influential "This old Mr. Hong, who has not returned to Macao for more than ten years", is really great.
Ah Chen realized that he was already doomed, and the situation on both sides of the black and white sides was not good for him. So he broke away from the police force without permission, took the lady's purse containing five million, and went to the Macau pier to prepare to run. But he didn't know that he seemed to be a worm stuck to a spider's web, and it was futile to try to get out of it.
After arriving at the dock, the body of Young Master Rong was found in the trunk of his car, and the police quickly fortified to arrest Ah Chen. In the end, in order to hide 5 million, Achen opened the door of the 107 locker on the pier, and a human head rolled out of it.
With no way back, Achen ran to the passage that George and his party had to pass through when they arrived in Macau. When Achen saw George from this side of the yongdao with a pistol, he seemed to have collided head-on with his fate. This fate seems to have been chosen by himself, but in fact it is a bureau given to his subordinates by Mr. Hong Lao. Achen had no choice but to prophesy and shoot George and his bodyguards. Several shots were fired at Achen, staring blankly at the yacht driving away...
Third, fatalists: Heroes are willing to be pawns, only to retreat from the whole body
Ah Chen, who was fortunate enough to escape the disaster, kidnapped Ah Feng and forced her to ask where Yao Dong was. Yao Dong was followed by Achen's car when he agreed to leave Macau. The two men went to an empty warehouse. At this time, Ah Chen disguised himself as Yao Dong, and the two engaged in a gun battle in a room full of mirrors.
At this moment, you will not feel the excitement of happiness and revenge in "The True Colors of Heroes" from this gunfight, but will lament the sadness and irony of fate.
Ah Chen and Yao Dong are essentially just pawns in the struggle between Mr. Hong Lao and the two gangs, but Yao Dong is always a "self-conscious pawn", he has full self-knowledge, behind his composure, coldness and nihilism, is a huge sense of powerlessness, fear and despair caused by the inability to control his own destiny.
And Ah Chen had always believed that he was a strong person who could run rampant in both black and white. He thought he could take all the problems and settle all the difficulties with his connections and skills, at least to survive the night when George returned to Macau.
As more and more "fire points" need to be extinguished, he, the "fire extinguisher", eventually set himself on fire. Finally, the last trace of pride in Achen's body was also reduced to ashes by the fiery fire of "fate".
In the final warehouse showdown, Ah Chen changed into a costume exactly like Yao Dong. Here, the consistency of dress also symbolizes the unity of the values of the two. This means that Ah Chen has completed the transformation from a "hero" to a "chess piece", no longer hoping to be able to reorganize, but only willing to give a chance to retreat. At this moment, there are no policemen and killers, heroes and bandits, and only two small chess pieces are left.
In the end, Achen got the chance. When he drove to the dock, he was blown up by the person arranged by Mr. Hong to meet him here. The most ironic thing is that although he has been cautious and careful for more than ten years and has been wearing body armor on his body, he has never escaped Mr. Hong's net.