The Delinquent (Fen nu qing nian, 1973)

Chang Cheh and Kuei Chih Hung

Hong Kong

101 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2003 Branislav L. Slantchev

Who would have guessed that Chang Cheh's legendary reputation is not entirely built on period martial arts films? Here's a contemporary social drama that is just as feisty as his famous wuxia films, where he can (yet again) talk about how women and greed spoil even the best of us. It is not exactly clear what Kuei Chih Hung contributed to the directing as the style is almost completely and unmistakably Chang Cheh, down to the annoying and supposedly dramatic zooms.

The timeless father-son communication	Wang Chung is tormented

Wang Chung is John who is not a happy camper. He lives with his Dad in an overcrowded tenement, his mother has left with the butcher (can't get more humiliating that this), and he can't shake the smoking habit. In addition to all this malaise, there's the lack of money and status, which, coupled with a beautiful girlfriend who is so romantic she does not put out, is a sure recipe for delinquency. Or, as the original trailer put it, a youth that will explode like volcano.

Lucky Strike commercial	Wang Chung dispatches future gang bros

And explode the youth does although not before delivering some noodles. The explosion itself is rather unremarkable seeing that it revolves mainly around unimaginatively beating up on ever increasing numbers of other delinquents who conveniently place themselves in harm's way by, for example, teasing said virginal girlfriend played by the decidedly non-virginal Lily Li.

The 60s were decadent everywhere	Lily Li is cute

In the meantime, a gang of thugs (as opposed to a gang of nuns) is plotting quick enrichment that involves --- surprise, surprise --- stealing. In fact, it calls for an armed robbery of the very storage depot that is guarded by John's father (Lu Ti). This father has a reputation for somewhat of a rough guy, not only because he battered his wife, but because he knows martial arts (which he did not use to batter his wife, mostly preferring to bitch-slap her like a man). John has his loyalties tested when the gang offers him $$$ plus T&A (and more) in exchange for giving them the combination of the safe.

Gratuitous shot of Lily Li	Cool car + gorgeous chick = EVIL

John, it should be noted, loves his father. A bit too much, I think, because he seems to believe that having a tough life is an excuse for beating up one's wife. So he rejects the first offer even though it is sweetened by a pretty good carnal experience. Following the rejection, Fan Mei Sheng gets so upset that he orders a bunch of bikers to chase around John until he wets himself. For some reason, presumably because he felt bad for rejecting the offer and getting the freebie sex, John lets himself be beaten to a pulp, which (fortunately for the film) is completely missed by the script continuity person.

The joys of delinquency	Jogging with the friendly rockers

The gang leader Lam (the perennially villainous Tung Lin) tries another approach, throwing in a shiny red sports car, an absolutely gorgeous chick (Betty Pei Ti), and a wad of cash, all for strictly temporary usage. This, however, does the trick and John decides to steal the combination provided that the gang attacks the warehouse on his Dad's day off.

Cool car + gorgeous chick = STUPID	Betty Pei Ti could seduce Jesus

As one should expect, the replacement gets ill (or calls in sick on the instigation of the gang leader, it's not exactly clear), and John's dad has to work the night of the robbery. John makes a desperate attempt to postpone the crime but only succeeds in getting himself beaten to a pulp and, for variety, almost sliced in half by a formidable-looking piece of lumberyard equipment. His dad dies heroically protecting three cartons of Lucky Strikes, which means John will be very upset, perhaps more than required by his usual delinquency.

Deep down in his heart, all he wants is $$$	I am a lumberjack and I'm OK

And so he does. The last 15 minutes of the film are all about John murdering every single gang member he can lay his hands (and feet, chairs, bottles, flame-throwers, and what-not) on. Although entirely expected, this bloody revenge spree brought an undeniable sense of satisfaction, not so much because the villains were so bad, but because their acting certainly was villainous. After strangling the big boss, John leaps to his death from the penthouse of the high rise building, reflecting as he falls on ways he could have gotten to third base with his girlfriend and abandoned delinquency in favor of state-sanctioned monogamy.

Extreme Fishing	Not the Dove of Peace

There is not much to recommend this film in terms of acting and the sob story is so damned predictable that one could almost quit watching after the first 10 minutes. The fighting scenes are average, often it is clear that there is no impact to the hits. The music, on the other hand, was very good, especially in the equally good credit sequence at the beginning of the film.

The Celestial Pictures DVD offers an anamorphic transfer at the correct 2.35:1 Shaw Scope ratio, and picture is generally clean although the color saturation is a bit lacking. Only a Dolby Digital mono Mandarin soundtrack is available, along with English subtitles that have few problems in terms of translation. The studio also skimped on the extras, this time only giving us a still gallery, talent files, and several trailers. Amusingly, the plot summary on the back sleeve and on the DVD itself is totally misleading.

October 15, 2003