CITY ON FIRE

CITY ON FIRE

Hongkong 1987

Directed by Ringo Lam

Chow Yun Fat
Danny Lee
Carrie Ng

Sun Yeh

What's more important, loyalty or justice? That's the dilemma facing undercover cop Ko Chow (Chow Yun-Fat) in Ringo Lam's excellent crime drama City on Fire. The film is a definite must see for HK enthusiasts, if for no other reason than to witness what a Ringo Lam movie was like before he became Jean Claude Van Damme's director of choice.

Like Donnie Brasco and other films of its kind, City on Fire explores the internal ethical struggle for a policeman who get too close to his prey. The plot: after a fellow cop is knifed to death in the streets, detective Ko Chow is put on the trail of some jewel thieves by his world-weary superior, Inspector Lau (Sun Yeuh). Chow, however, has deep reservations about the assignment. "I fulfill my duties?" Chow complains, "But I betray my friends!" Despite his protests, Chow agrees to the job and attempts to befriend head crook Lee Fu (Danny Lee). After a few tense situations, Chow is eventually accepted into the Fu's confidence and asked to join in on the crew's next big score. As the two strike up a friendship, Chow's personal ethics are put to the test as he finds himself genuinely liking Fu, the very man he's supposed to arrest. Later, the climactic jewelry heist goes terribly wrong with bullets flying everywhere and bodies littering the streets. In the end, Chow is forced to make a definitive, but not surprising, decision on where his loyalties reside…with fatal results.

There have been many comparison made between this film and Tarantino's "re-imagining" (An unfortunate buzzword that emerged after Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes debacle. But I digress). Though similar in theme, City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs are dramatically different in execution. Whereas Quentin Tarantino's debut film had a sleek look and crackling dialogue, City on Fire does not—and that's not necessarily a criticism of Lam's flick. Tarantino's world is a kind of hyper-reality in which common thugs can riff on pop culture; Ringo Lam's domain seems a tad bit more realistic. The criminal element depicted in City on Fire operates in a grim, gritty underworld that's only shred of romanticism lies in the immutable loyalty between brothers. Same idea, different methods—but both pretty damn cool movies.

7th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards

• Winner - Best Director (Ringo Lam Ling-Tung)

• Winner - Best Actor (Chow Yun-Fat)

• Nomination - Best Picture

• Nomination - Best Actor (Danny Lee Sau-Yin)

• Nomination - Best Supporting Actress (Carrie Ng Ka-Lai)

• Nomination - Best Screenplay (Shum Sai-Sing)

• Nomination - Best Editing (Wong Ming-Lei)

• Nomination - Best Art Direction (Luk Chi-Fung)

• Nomination - Best Original Film Score (Teddy Robin Kwan)

• Nomination - Best Song ("Yiu Jaang Chui Faai Lok", performed by Maria Cordero)