That year, the movie "Crazy Boy" rejuvenated the sluggish Hong Kong film market. This is an adaptation of the best-selling comic of the same name, and the young actor Ekin Cheng, who was not well-known at the time, played the role of the male protagonist "Chen Haonan".
In the end, the film did bring considerable returns to the crew and cast in terms of both wealth and fame.
No one thought that a few years later, we still remember this movie. But the reason we remembered it was not just the sudden rise in box office numbers at that time.
We found that it also planted a not-so-good seed in the hearts of teenagers. A new "charlatan" has quietly sprung up on campus, mimicking the dress and demeanor of the heroes in the movie, and taking pride and guidance from the film's plot.
This puts Ekin Cheng in a difficult position. He originally thought that he was just acting, playing a role of killing relatives with righteousness and serving the country loyally. He only wanted to care about the well-being of the public, and he never expected that he would become the last person he wanted to be—a typical example of a misguided leader.
So he diligently expressed his remorse in various public occasions, hoping to prevent young people from continuing to stray into the road from which there was no way out. "If I could go back in time, I'd rather choose another script," he said.
In order to make up for his mistakes, Ekin Cheng chose to star in another movie related to "Crazy Boy" - "Kowloon Ice House". This movie directed by Ma Chucheng also gathers first-line actors such as Ekin Cheng, Karen Mok, and Lu Songxian.
But unlike the previous work, this time Ekin Cheng no longer plays a righteous character, but transforms into an underworld boss "Wen Promise" who wants to change his mind and regain his ordinary life.
Obviously, the purpose of "Nine Dragons Ice Room" is to criticize and subvert the beautified spirit of "righteousness" in "Crazy Boy". For example, Wen Nuoyan, who had just been released from prison, did not have a high-level reception ceremony, but limped alone in the rain.
The small tea restaurant he opened is in stark contrast to the chaotic rivers and lakes outside. In the end, he did not die honorably or happily like the protagonists of previous films, but died softly in a senseless fight.
The movie is also permeated with strong family affection. For example, Wen Nuoyan has been taking care of his son and is also trying to repair his relationship with his father. All signs show that the care of relatives is above all righteousness.
And the final result of the protagonist just proves this: none of his Jianghu brothers who keep saying that they want to avenge him appear at the most critical moment of his life after all.
A brief summary of the plot of "Nine Dragons Ice House":
Wen Nuoyan, the big brother of the underworld nicknamed "Nine Tattooed Dragon", has just finished his six-year prison career and set foot on the homeland of Hong Kong. He was full of thoughts about changing his mind and living a simple life, so he found a remote neighborhood and opened a small tea restaurant called "Kowloon Ice House", where he cooked in the back kitchen and received customers in the front hall.
However, his ex-girlfriend Ma Jiaohong did not let him go. It was a woman who loved him so much that she had not been married for many years. She finds the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, hoping that he will return to the gang and regain power.
Because during the years he was in prison, the land that belonged to him had been divided up by others. The nine-striped dragon refused, saying that he was old and tired, and he just wanted to live the rest of his life without worries and no bonds.
At this time, a ruthless character named Volcano provoked the incident. He secretly instigated Ma Jiaohong's new boyfriend, the prince, to go to the Kowloon Ice Room to humiliate the nine-tattooed dragon in person. The two fought in full swing, and the nine-patterned dragon relied on many years of underworld experience to beat the prince.
At this time, the volcano quietly appeared, and attacked the nine-striped dragon behind the knife. The nine-striped dragon fell to the ground with a knife in his chest, fell into a dirty and cold wind and rain, and lost his breath.
From beginning to end, Wen Nuoyan did not take the initiative to cause trouble. He only tried to protect himself, but he couldn't get out. His brothers, who kept saying that they wanted to avenge him, did not support him at a critical moment.
And the family he has always cared about can only watch him leave like this.
In order to strengthen the warning and educational effect of the movie, in addition to directly showing the tragic experience of the protagonist, "Nine Dragons Ice Room" also uses some techniques to add more psychological descriptions to the characters, so that the audience can better understand their pain and helplessness.
For example, Wen Nuoyan has always been concerned about his son, and he is also trying to reconcile with his old father. The arrangement of these family elements is to make the audience realize that the care of relatives is much higher than the so-called "brothers" in the rivers and lakes.
The reason why Wen Nuoyan finally chose to turn back is precisely because he saw this clearly.
In addition, the director also depicts Wen Nuoyan's mental journey through some romantic techniques. For example, at the end, he stumbled back to his childhood residence in the wind and rain, as if he was nostalgic for the innocence and beauty of the past.
This dreamlike episode shows his strong desire to restore himself to an ordinary person.
9 years later, Ekin Cheng and Chen Xiaochun co-starred in "Flying Sand Wind Transit". This work directed by Zhuang Wenqiang symbolizes the complete end of the era of "Crazy Boy".
"The Nine Dragons Ice Room" can be seen as an important turning point: it critiques the "Crazy Boy"-style culture, and it also provides an opportunity for Ekin Cheng himself to break away from the role of Chan Ho-nam.
In the final analysis, it is not difficult for us to see that the core meaning of the movie "Kowloon Ice Room" is to criticize the glorified and exaggerated underworld culture in "Crazy Boy", and to warn young people not to fall into those life paths that seem to be very cool but are actually a wrong path.
And the addition of Ekin Cheng also added to the effect of this movie. Because, his high popularity in "Crazy Boy" has made the role of "Chen Haonan" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
His transformation will make those fans who followed him back then have strong cognitive contrasts and conflicts. And this contrast will also more effectively penetrate their beautifying cognition of the life of the rivers and lakes, so that the effect of theme education will be twice the result with half the effort.
It can be said that Ekin Cheng is using his popularity and credibility to help the film achieve its original intention, which is to educate young people and warn society. And he did rely on this movie to wash away the negative impact of Chen Haonan's role on himself and society.
This was a pivotal turning point in his life, and from here on, we saw that he also played more and more positive and positive roles.