Zeng Yuli
There are important spoilers for this article
Among the many movies in the May 1st file, "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", directed by Zheng Baorui and starring Louis Koo, Lin Feng, Sammo Hung, Ren Xianqi and others, is quite confident to take the lead in opening large-scale screenings, which shows the filmmaker's confidence in the quality of the film. The screening has a good reputation, and it is expected to break through in the May 1st competition.
"The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" posterHong Kong Kowloon Walled City is a unique area full of legends, and it may be necessary for the audience to better engage in the movie, or it is necessary to understand the background of the Kowloon Walled City. The trailer has this narration: "The Kowloon Walled City, the abandoned land of Hong Kong. It is a legend of the rivers and lakes, and it is also a forbidden area in the world. The Kowloon Walled City first existed as a military base to defend against foreign enemies, which can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was still an important military facility for the Qing government to resist foreign aggression. After the Treaty of Nanking ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories remained part of the Qing Dynasty, and in the 1898 Treaty on the Extension of Hong Kong Sites, although the New Territories were leased by the British, the Kowloon Walled City, as the last Qing enclave in Hong Kong, continued to be symbolically garrisoned by Qing officials and maintained a degree of sovereignty. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, the walls of the Kowloon Walled City were demolished, rendering it no longer functional. After the end of World War II, due to the war and political vacuum, it was not effectively managed by any party and became a "three-regardless" zone. The influx of refugees, the rapid expansion of the population, and the mushrooming of dense buildings without planning have resulted in high-density slums. To Qifeng, Stephen Chow, Wu Zhenyu and other celebrities in the Hong Kong film and television industry spent their difficult childhood in the Kowloon Walled City.
In 1987, after a long period of discussion and negotiation, China and Britain reached an agreement to clean up and rebuild the Kowloon Walled City. Beginning in 1991, the Hong Kong government carried out large-scale demolition and relocation of the Kowloon Walled City, and by the end of 1993, this "most densely populated area in the world" had disappeared and was included in Hong Kong as part of the Kowloon City District.
The news broadcast in the movie, the demolition of the Kowloon Walled City was officially put on the agenda, and "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" is set in the Kowloon Walled City in the 1980s, when the Kowloon Walled City was still a "three-regardless" zone. Due to the "three regardless", Kowloon Walled City has long been occupied by various triad or gang forces (such as 14K and New Ngee An). The Kowloon Walled City has become one of the centers of gang activities and is regarded as a "gangster paradise" by the outside world. As a result, in Hong Kong films, the Kowloon Walled City often exists as a symbol of "gangster culture", "Provincial and Hong Kong Flag Soldiers", "The One Who Came Out of the Walled City", "O Ji Triad Files", "Chasing the Dragon" and other films, all have the presence of Kowloon Walled Gangsters, and Johnny To's famous "Underworld" series is also influenced by the gangster culture of Kowloon Walled City. "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" naturally inevitably has gangster elements. But in terms of the presentation of gangster culture, this is the biggest shortcoming of the movie. But don't worry, there are two huge advantages of the movie that can be made up, which is a later story. The film involves two generations of gang members. The representatives of the older generation of gangsters are: Big Boss (played by Sammo Hung), Di Qiu (played by Ren Xianqi), Tornado (played by Louis Koo) and Chen Zhan (played by Aaron Kwok). Di Qiu, Tornado, and Chen Zhan fought fiercely for control of the Kowloon Walled City. Di Qiu and Tornado are on the same side, Chen Zhan is the other camp, Chen Zhan brutally killed Di Qiu's wife and children in order to make Di Qiu submit, and Tornado killed Chen Zhan in a duel with Chen Zhan...... In the end, control of the Kowloon Walled City fell into the hands of Di Qiu - he was the "big landlord", and Tornado became the "director of the Walled City Security Committee", and he was the voice of the Walled City, and he had been living in the Walled City.
Tornado (played by Louis Koo)
Di Qiu (played by Ren Xianqi) What Di Qiu didn't know was that Chen Zhan and Tornado had always had a brotherly relationship in private. The duel between the two people needs to be blindfolded to each other to succeed, Chen Zhan was killed, and Tornado also fulfilled Chen Zhan's last wish: to send Chen Zhan's wife and children out of Hong Kong. Although the big boss is an outsider to this duel, he has always been eyeing the control of the Kowloon Walled City.
The next generation of the big boss (Sammo Hung played by Sammo Hung) in Kowloon Walled City revolves around the "Four Youths of the Walled City". Chen Luojun (played by Lin Feng), who smuggled to Hong Kong, accidentally hid in the walled city, and Tornado kindly took him in.
Chen Luojun (played by Lin Feng) Chen Luojun also met three like-minded friends in the city: Xin Yi (played by Liu Junqian), Twelve Shao (played by Hu Zitong) and Si Zai (played by Zhang Wenjie). They all value love and righteousness. Chen Luojun, who has been wandering, has found a sense of home in the walled city, and he longs to stay in the walled city.
The conflict of the "four young people in the walled city" is coming. Audiences who are familiar with the routines of Hong Kong gangster films may not be difficult to guess the mystery of Chen Luojun's life experience - yes, he turned out to be Chen Zhan's son. Di Qiu has been thinking about avenging his dead wife for many years, he wants to kill Chen Luojun, Tornado wants to protect Chen Luojun out of love and promise to Chen Zhan, and Di Qiu and Tornado's brotherhood is in crisis. Di Qiu spared no expense in order to take revenge, and on the condition of controlling the walled city, let the big boss kill Chen Luojun. A battle for and protection around Chen Luojun began...... Love and betrayal are common themes in Hong Kong gangster-themed movies. Underworld organizations operate in the form of clans, fraternities, or other similar groups, and the relationships between members are based on loyalty, trust, and mutual help, and "affection" is the source of organizational cohesion. However, due to the illegal nature of triad organizations, the struggle for spheres of influence, and the transfer of power, betrayals, breaks, and fights often occur. The most three-dimensional and complex character in the movie is none other than Tornado, who is caught in a deep struggle between love and betrayal, both of whom are brothers - it can be said that "the palms of the hands and the backs of the hands are flesh", but these two brothers have a deep feud in the sea of blood, which side should they favor? Unfortunately, the movie handles the struggle of the tornado on the surface. Although the grievances of the previous generation should not affect the next generation, his starting point for wanting to protect Chen Luojun is understandable, but at the cost of the peace of the entire walled city and the sacrifice of other walled city people, does he not hesitate or contradict it? Therefore, purely from the perspective of the literary drama of gangster films, the logic of "Straight Men Love Straight Men and Love Desperately, Because Love is Bigger Than the Sky" in "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" even straight male audiences feel too "funny". It's not that the audience doubts the sentiment, but how can the sentiment of your gang be firmer than the faith, and they spill their blood one by one? Not to mention that it is an old stalk of the mystery of life experience. Leaving aside this weak point, the rest of "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" is a big plus. From the perspective of action movies, "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" can be called one of the best Hong Kong action movies in the past decade. The action director of the movie is Kenji Tanigaki, from Donnie Yen's martial arts team, and is the only Japanese action director in the Hong Kong Action Stuntmen Guild, and he is also the action director of "Fuse" and "Rage: Serious Case". The action choreography of the movie is tough and direct, pursuing the real hitting effect, punching to the flesh, ensuring that every attack can bring the audience an intuitive and strong shock feeling, and truly restore the life and death struggle in the fierce struggle. The extensive use of cold weapon duels strengthens the beauty and sense of actual combat in action scenes. The action scenes make full use of the cramped, narrow and tortuous environment of the internal structure of the Kowloon Walled City, which greatly increases the tension and ornamentation of the action scenes. Another major feature of the action scene is that it is full of comic sense, integrating elements such as exaggerated actions, instantaneous explosiveness and dynamic storyboarding in comics, making every move appear powerful, presenting the audience with a more sense of speed and a more hearty visual feast. The length of the action scenes in the movie is quite sincere, and the high-intensity action rhythm is always maintained, and there is no slackness from beginning to end. The unique action design and high-intensity fight scenes present a legendary and passionate Kowloon Walled City world.
Wonderful action scenes run through the whole film, if the audience is an action movie lover, "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" must not be missed.
For many Hong Kong people, especially for those who have lived in the Kowloon Walled City, or have been in the same historical interval as the Kowloon Walled City, "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" is also a nostalgic song written for the Kowloon Walled City. The film presents the historical appearance of the Kowloon Walled City, and also conveys the nostalgia for the past and the old culture, and the persistence of some beautiful and timeless values. The stereotypical Kowloon Walled City is disorderly, gloomy and mysterious, and the movie spends a lot of pen and ink to portray the other side of the Kowloon Walled City. Why did Chen Luojun want to stay in the Kowloon Walled City, why did he make it his home? Why did Tornado be so willing to be a "talker" in the Walled City? This is because the Kowloon Walled City is also a place for the poor to live in, and it is also a community with love and humanity. Although there are illegal industries in the Kowloon Walled City, there are also many kinds of small traders and low-level people who make a living here, and although life here is hard, it is also full of "fireworks".
The Kowloon Walled City is extremely crowded, with high-rise buildings close to each other and narrow lanes crisscrossing it. Under extreme living conditions, residents share limited space resources, which gives rise to a high level of neighborhood and close community ties, where people take care of each other and help each other.
In the absence of a formal judicial system, residents maintain a certain social order, such as "affection" and "rules", through self-regulation and civil mediation mechanisms. Every day, tornadoes deal with disputes and issues, large and small, to maintain the harmony and stability of the community...... This is the Kowloon Walled City that the film misses: a vibrant social organism composed of various elements such as the atmosphere of rivers and lakes, the fireworks of the market, the importance of love and justice, and mutual help. At the end, the Kowloon Walled City is about to be demolished, and the "Four Youths of the Walled City" climb high and look far away, "Take a few more looks, Hong Kong will become very fast...... But some things don't change." This is the private voice of the creator. On the one hand, it is a feeling for the rapid changes of the city, and on the other hand, it is a commitment to the values and emotional ties that have survived the baptism of the years, such as the spirit of perseverance, love for the homeland, loyalty among friends, and solidarity in the face of difficulties. The action scenes of "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" take us back to the golden age of Hong Kong kung fu films. Yes, "some things will not change", the charm, influence and cultural spirit of Hong Kong films have gone through the changes of the times, and they are still endless, maintaining lasting vitality and continuous innovation power, and continuing to bring wonderful visual and emotional experiences to the audience.
This issue is edited by Xing Tan