A Moment of Romance II
Director: Benny Chan
Year: 1993
Rating: 6.0
The first A Moment of Romance films came out in 1990 and was a huge hit leading
inevitably to two more though spaced three years apart - which was slow for
the Hong Kong film industry back in the 1990's as they could turn out a film
on a dime. The three films have nothing to do with one another plot wise
and the only connective tissue is that Johnny To (pre-Milkyway) was involved
with them - as producer on all three and the director of the third one -
and actress Wu Chien-lien being the main female lead in all three - as different
characters but fortunately the same sublime face. The first film was her
debut and she became an overnight sensation and her nickname became The Face.
She went on to a fine career generally in dramas but a few comedies as well
and one action film that I can think of as the assassin in Johnny To's Beyond
Hypothermia. A film that folks in the West might know her in is Ang Lee's
Eat Drink Man Woman as the elder daughter. I had not seen her in a film in
years and honestly the first close-up was like being drenched in sweet honey.
A Moment of Romance II goes with the same formula as the first one - an air
of heroic tragedy so thick you can barely breathe, emotions poured on like
a lumberjack with pancake syrup, beautifully shot with a warm color palette
of blues and reds, motorcycles, songs and a milieu of nasty gangsters and
good cops. And the two innocents who get caught up in it all. This doesn't
work as effectively as the first one though they sure try - partly because
the lead is not Andy Lau and there are a number of really stupid bits in
the film that force you to roll your eyes.
The reason I have seen 1 & 3 (both reviewed by YTSL on brns.com) but
skipped II was because it stars Aaron Kwok who had the art of being a mannequin
down perfect. Now he has improved considerably since then but back in those
early days he was just a pretty pretty boy with the styled haircut and near
immovable features. And that is his method of acting here - look good - keep
the hair in place and never show emotion.
Celia (Wu Chien -lien) lives in the Mainland and has a brother in jail. She
comes to Hong Kong to earn enough money to free him. Well, there is only
one way for a Mainland refugee to earn money in Hong Kong - on her back.
The pimp Boss (a wonderfully slimy William Ho) decides to give her a tryout
as her first go - but lucky Celia sees him get killed right before her eyes
by the Second in Command But Trying Harder Paul who then of course puts the
blame on her and the chase is on. She in a slip. Frank (Kwok) on his motorcycle
stops and takes her away - to an illegal race course run by Dino (a young
looking Anthony Wong). She walks away - he lets her - ok weird - and the
next night she is still there walking around in her slip. No one offered
Wu Chien-lien any help, a coat, something! I think the director Benny Chan
just liked her in a slip. Ok I can see that. And later after she walks out
on Aaron she is back on the street in her slip again! That slip should have
gotten co-billing.
So the inevitable follows - love, lots of motorcycle stunts, the triads tracking
her down, getting the hell knocked out of you, getting run over by a car
and getting up with a smile, the reconciliation with his rich father (Paul
Chun-pui) and so on. It looks really good and the falls of the racers really
painful and Wu Chien-lien devastates - but it was perhaps cooked too long.
