Diamond Hill
Review by YTSL
People run, run, running. A boy and a
girl running hand in hand, looking like they didn't have a care in the
world. A young man racing -- in spite of his having a head injury
and bare feet -- through the streets and alleyways of Hong Kong, with another
man in breathless pursuit. A school uniform wearing teenage girl
hurrying from her home, next seen dashing back and forth between a pharmacy
and a toilet where she was -- one by one -- administering a bunch of pregnancy
tests on herself, then gettng chased by a plainclothes policeman plus followed
by a stranger who turned out to be of help to her.
These are some of the at times haunting images
that should stay for a while with whoever decides to check out DIAMOND
HILL, one of the most personal as well as low budget feeling films this
(re)viewer has ever seen. Other vivid -- and seemingly assorted --
pictures from this interestingly shot (by Lam Wah Chuen), innovatively
edited (by Angie Lam) and surely rather idiosyncratically directed (by
Cheang Pou-Soi) digital video (DV) production that I reckon will get lodged
in one's memory include those of: A glistening block of tall luxury
apartments (situated in the Hong Kong locale that this offering is named
after); an ancestral altar table, atop which a diamond ring lies hiding
behind an incense stick holder; a glass ring made from a Coke bottle's
rim; a girl's deceptively ordinary looking bedroom; the kind of scenic
view that people would love to be able to look out at from their windows;
and a kitchen in which a pot of soup is simmering on the top of the stove.
They all pale though when placed next to the thought
and vision of that which came from the five year long sacrificial act of
an orphan boy (played as a young adult by Chang Chin Pang and in his more
youthful reincarnation by an expressive faced actor whose name I do not
know) upon his finding that his younger sister (May is portrayed by Maggie
Poon (Spacked Out) and a younger actress -- whose name I am guessing is
Karine Kwok -- who also deserves kudos for her work here) was cared for
as much as she was by a woman who so wanted to be addressed as Mummy (Carrie
Ng is utterly convincing as a character who is miles away in temperament
from "Naked Killer"'s Princess). A note to potential viewers of DIAMOND
HILL: Much of the film's emotional impact will be lost if great incredulity
-- which absolutely cannot be allowed to overwhelm everything else -- greets
the discovery as to the particular nature of that selfless act. And
while I myself have some problems with this deed by someone whose suicidal
father's last words to him were "Take care of your sister", I'd nevertheless
strongly emphasize the need to believe and also appreciate that which was
offered.
Over on Mobius's Asian Cinema Discussion Board,
Grady Hendrix wrote that DIAMOND HILL is "about people who're defying logic,
reason, biology, and every form of common sense to remake the world into
somewhere they can live". This is a description that definitely applies
to the girl and her Ko (not the name of the boy but the Cantonese term
for "elder -- or just plain older -- brother") whose loving relationship
is at the heart of this little rough gem of a dramatic offering.
However, it also is true of a homeless but camcorder-equipped burglar (Cheung
Tat Ming in fine form) who found more than he bargained for upon entering
into the Cheungs' apartment (whose household is headed by Hui Siu Hung's
not particularly sensitive -- or sympathetic -- character).
The heart of DIAMOND HILL's director -- who appears
briefly on screen as a mugger -- is clearly in the right place. Cheang
Pou-Soi's technical talents probably should also not be doubted.
However, this is not to say that his work is without problems. For
one thing, his playing with time, choice of music (whose score is credited
to Tommy Wai) and (other) stylistic experiments make Wong Kar Wai's efforts
-- yes, really, even "Ashes of Time"! -- look straightforward and staid.
I also sincerely hope that I am wrong in my identification of who is the
father of May's baby. This having been said, I would maintain as
well that this boldly novel offering -- which Grady also referred to as
an "urban gothic" -- is one more Hong Kong movie that can be proudly flourished
at detractors of that cinematic world, who think that all it has ever produced
are "chopsocky flicks" and (other) 100% conventional commercial-oriented
output.
My rating for the film: 6.5