Once a Thief (Zong sheng si hai, 1990)
John Woo
Hong Kong
104 mins, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)
Not to be confused with the hokey US remake of the same title by the same director, the original ONCE A THIEF may not be classic Woo, but is unmistakable nonetheless. If we have gotten used to hard action with a touch of comedy, then this film is hard comedy with ... well, actually plenty of action.
Jim (Leslie Cheung), Joe (Chow Yun-Fat), and Cherie (Cherie Chung) are an unbeatable trio of dexterous art thieves, who don't miss any opportunity to have fun. The film opens with their successful heist of a painting in France, and the edge-of-your-seat action does not let down until the very end. Woo managed to do the most incredible car chase sequences I have ever seen, and we're not even one third into the movie when it happens. At first I thought it to be a bit anticlimactic --- what possible stunts can he have to top this incredible feast --- but before I knew it, I was drinking up the avalanche of sights and sounds like a camel who's been wandering in the Sahara for three months. Some trademark Woo shoot-outs (sans CYF's own trademarked guns-in-both-hands) with a body count approaching the casualties of a small European war. At some point I could swear I was seeing guys comes back from the very dead.
Whatever the merits of the action (and there are many), the humor was surprisingly good. After screening one too many Tsui Hark films, I have gotten used to campy slapstick fun, but ONCE A THIEF is much more. CYF is da man! Here's a great example of the great skill and versatility of this actor. He's frivolous, always making fun of everything, including his relationship with Cherie, but he's ready to risk his skin to save his buddy Jim. When he was crippled, I thought Woo had lost it: CYF in a wheelchair? Phlueeeze, could it be any cornier? But then Woo went on to show us why handicap parking spaces are for wimps. In his wheelchair, CYF is more agile than a monkey with a jalapeño in its ass. He is certainly nimbler than yours truly, and a better dancer to boot.
Then we find out it was all a ploy. And it is then that I almost choked laughing: I watched the scene where CYF showcases his fake martial arts skills (done incredibly well, with all the trappings of a serious genre film), complete with stance, screams, and pointless pounding of his own body. The only scene that comes close to topping this one has to be the ending, which is as stupid as it is entertaining. The wonders of the faster frame rate.
I've been blabbing about CYF like a virgin at her prom night, but Leslie Cheung also delivers the goodies. He's a bit more restrained, somewhat melancholic (perhaps because of his love for Cherie), and a trifle more serious than Joe. However, as customary for a Woo outing, the most important relationship in the film is between the two men. The chemistry they have is a pleasure to watch, especially when it develops under the crack camera of John Woo. They just don't make 'em like they used to.
June 12, 2001. BLS