Ying huang boon sik (A Better Tomorrow, 1986)

John Woo

Hong Kong

95 min, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)

If you don't stop pointing that gun, you will have to use it.

Here's the film that started it all, the heroic bloodshed tradition, Chow Yun-Fat's ultracool look, and the insane stunts with multiple explosions, bodies flying everywhere, and nameless extras dying by the thousands. The film not only catapulted John Woo to world fame, but became the source of numerous imitations, including the spawning of two sequels. As with most originals, this one has never been surpassed by what came next and still is a genre-defining feature.

My first viewing of it did not produce a whole lot of enthusiasm for the film because I was looking for comparisons with Woo's other masterpiece, The Killer, which I happen to love, and found both the story and the characters a bit lacking. Even though Chow and Ti Lung have a lot of chemistry together, they did not light up the screen the way Chow did with Danny Lee (and that was not a fluke of Woo's film, they also did superbly in Ringo Lam's City on Fire).

Quentin Tarantino went out, bought French designer shades and a long coat, and sported the Chow Yun-Fat look for a week. The cool triad mania also gripped Hong Kong and traveled well with the film too. It is perhaps not surprising given how ultra-stylish Chow looks. But that is not the end of the explanation about the film's success. I cannot vouch for the public in general, but my impression is that the story carries it much further than the bloodshed.

Mark (Chow Yun-Fat) and Sung Ho Tse (Ti Lung) are successful triad buddies who are involved in running a counterfeit money ring. Ho has a young brother Kit (Leslie Cheung) who is about to graduate from the police academy. The gravely ill father Sung (Tien Feng) asks Ho to quit his ways so that the brothers won't have to play "cops and robbers" for real. When Ho takes the proverbial "last job before quitting" (trademark and the most-abused trick of every weak script ), he is betrayed and ends up languishing in jail for three years. There's something to be said about the leniency of the criminal justice system.

Anyway, not convinced that he won't squeal, some triads try to "persuade" his father to do something about it. As it often happens with triad persuasion, the dad dies with a knife in his stomach, which causes Kit to be very very cross with his no-good bro. When Ho is finally released, he tries to patch up the relationship with his brother but gets several sucker punches in his own stomach during an eventful "talk" with Kit. The drama of that meeting is further enhanced by the pouring rain just so that Ho can walk away soaking wet, beat up, and generally wretched.

In another story, Mark takes bloody revenge on the people who have betrayed Ho. Or rather, on the people who tried to kill Ho on the orders of the guy who actually betrayed Ho. Offing the only people who may tell you who's behind the betrayal struck me as an unproductive way of dealing with the situation. In the resulting melee, Mark gets shot in the leg and is left a cripple. Then, somehow they never explain quite how, he slips down the triad rank ladder to the lowly position of a crippled windshield wiper. He even stuffs food in his mouth in a very unattractive way, which further underscores his wretchedness.

Ho tries to go straight by joining a cab company run be ex-cons. Two things stand in his way: 1) he does not have a driver's license to be a legit cabbie, and 2) the "it is very difficult to leave the world of crime" tidbit (another trademark of every weak script out there). Kit does not believe he's gone straight. Neither does the gang, although I still have trouble pinpointing exactly why they wanted Ho to work for them again.

Anyway, Kit's job is a dead end because his brother is an ex-con, and he tries to deal with the pesky fact by either getting rid of his bro or, if that fails, by scoring big in some investigation. Of course, his current investigation targets Shing (Waise Lee), the same guy who betrayed Ho, took over the gang, and is now trying to recruit Ho back. Despite his good looks, Shing is evil because he treats the crippled Mark badly. He, therefore, must die.

In the end, Kit is entrapped by Shing and gets a warning bullet in his slender torso. Ho decides to save his brother from his own stupidity in a complicated plan that involves simultaneously punishing Shing and helping Mark regain his self-esteem. Everything works according to plan. Well, almost everything because Mark dies. But not before having recovered his self-esteem and scolded Kit for his truly reprehensible treatment of Ho. Yeah, and three thousand costumed triads ruin their suits too, all in wicked slow motion that relishes every bullet hole.

As far as heroic bonding goes, there isn't much of it here, at least not a whole lot that is developed in the story itself. The relationship between Ho and Mark is a given, a product of the background of the film, and never really changes even when the two seem to part ways for a while. Ho's relationship with Kit, on the other hand, goes from good to bad, and to tolerably at last. Kit recognizes that the moral imperative sometimes cannot distinguish lawful from unlawful: He gives Ho the gun to shoot Shing in the end (which is still a cowardly act: he should have killed him himself). Ho recognizes that some chasms are impassable and no matter how strenuously you try to build a bridge, the only way to connect with the opposite side is to walk down into the pit and then hopefully climb on the other side. He arrests himself to prove to Kit his worth simultaneously proving his inability to escape from his past without further absolution.

This is an essentially all-male drama, just like all John Woo films. The few females that pop here and there are relegated to small supporting roles or are only important insofar that they somehow change the behavior of some male in a profound way. The token female here is the charming Emily Chu who plays Jackie, Kit's young wife (girlfriend?). Her role, however, is completely inconsequential because she fails to change Kit's single-minded attitude toward Ho even though she gives it a brave try. Was she put into the script just to demonstrate Kit's inner torments? Perhaps.

Favorite quote: "Do you believe in God," Ho asks Mark as they stand in the church before the final showdown. "Yes. I am God," replies Mark, "Everyone who controls his own destiny is God." It notable that Mark returns to fight alongside Ho by choice even though he has gotten what he wanted from Shing. It is this choice that kills him. This is the "essence of a hero" (which is the literal translation of the Chinese title).

This is also why I liked the film so much. It's not all that bondind bullshit, or trying to "go straight", or even the moral dilemma between convictions and family ties. It is Mark's descent to the lowest of the low, reduced to washing cars and opening doors for the boss, his refusal to give up, his desperate final attempt to get out of the mess, his success, and then his death following on the heels on his success. In the end, getting even, or getting rich, or getting back on top, or whatever, proves insufficient to keep him from risking it all for an old friend with whom he disagrees heartily. Giving it all up like that is the true color of a hero.

The Anchor Bay DVD is the best out there even though it does have its own shortcomings. The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer beats all those other letterboxed editions, including the expensive Tai Seng repackaging of the Mega Star release. Having said this, the disc has a lot of problems. The print is scratched, and there are numerous glitches with the sound (the most evident is the nearly 10 second absolute silence near the beginning of the film on the Cantonese track, which is not by design because the Mandarin track is just fine). The very few extras include Chow's and Woo's bio sketches, and three trailers, one in English, another in Chinese, and a third one in Chinese with English subtitles. Big deal. Where's the commentary track?

February 26, 2003