Rosa


 

Director: Joe Cheung Tung Cho
Year: 1986
Rating: 7.0

I am going to try and occasionally re-watch some of the Hong Kong films that I first came across some 25 or more years ago and have not seen since. There was a HK video store in Chinatown and I used to go down there and just pick films by the cover because I knew next to nothing. Like everything else there is a learning curve. I knew who Yuen Biao was and that was enough to choose this film but other than him the only other actor I was familiar with was Kara Hui-ying. The review I wrote back then was three sentences long. No mention of Dick Wei, Lowell Lo, Paul Chun Pui, Charlie Cho, Chung Fat, Peter Chan, Tai Bo, James Tin-chuen and a bunch of other now familiar faces. Because I didn't know any of them back then. The action choreography is from Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah and Lam Ching-ying. Too bad Lam and Yuen Wah didn't show up for a few bang ups. Produced by Sammo Hung for his good friend Yuen Biao. Wong Kar-wai is credited as one of the writers! Can't even imagine which part that would be.






Yuen Biao never had the solo career that Jackie or Sammo had though physically some would argue that he was the most talented but he made some fine and fun solo and collaborative films in the 1980s and into the 90's before leg injuries caught up with him and his career stalled out a bit. Time to re-visit some of those. This film is a goofy delight with just enough action to call it an action-comedy-romance. It is mainly comedy though as it goes off in all sorts of directions - to its benefit I think - but considering the actors mentioned that could be a shame. But this is really a showcase for Yuen to shine with his charm and sweetness. He is close to adorable here and smiles throughout. Even frozen in ice. But definitely don't go in expecting an action bonanza - it isn't here. But what action there is will light up your kung-fu soul for a few minutes.






Paul Chun Pui is the police supervisor of Biao and Lowell Lo and he has it in for both of them because of their screw-ups. They are not the most competent of cops. In one of those classic hide in a room scenario they keep missing the bad guy they are after as they keep looking the wrong way. They are assigned to find Charlie Cho who is a snitch and has some photos of James Tin and Dick Wei killing some folks. Their only lead is Rosa, ex-girlfriend of Cho. She is played by the well-figured Lu Hsiao-fen which struck a memory chord. She had been a big star in the Taiwanese Black Movies at the beginning of the decade - in particular in The Avenger. It made her a star but also notorious for her scenes in the film and now she was in Hong Kong. She is great in this - sexy, flirty and fun.







At this point the film veers off course as our two boys basically forget their assignment and go after the girls - Lo after Lu and Biao after Lo's sister, Kara. There is even one of those silly videos played (sung by Lowell Lo) as a montage is shown. They spend what felt like a lifetime playing mahjong and practical jokes on one another. Lowell even does the sleepwalking routine as he tries to grab Lu's assets. It feels at times like a Lucky Stars movie. But there are two solid action set-pieces. One in which Biao and Lo dress up as American gangsters from the 1930s - I think Lowell is attempting black face but hard to say - and get into a rip-roaring fight with a money lender (Fung Ging-man) and his gang of knuckle draggers and then they save the big one for last. This is pretty fabulous with stunts galore and high octane rocking action between Kara and Biao against Dick Wei, Chung Fat and about twenty minions. Some great moments in this. Another action set-piece would have been favorably received by me but this wasn't really meant to be an action film. It is all about Yuen Biao.