Prison on Fire II (Tao fan, 1991)

Ringo Lam

Hong Kong

109 min, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)

This is the sequel to Prison on Fire, and follows the trials and tribulations of Ching (Chow Yun-Fat) as he simultaneously tries to survive a new vicious warden, a turf war between Mainland and Hong Kong inmates, and manage the upbringing of his son, whom he has been forced to put in an orphanage following the death of Ching's mother. Much more explicit and brutal than the prequel, Prison on Fire II is still a carefully crafted drama that dwells more on the nature of human relationships forged in the hardships of common traumatic experience than on the violence of that experience. Of course, since violence is an indelible and defining part of prisoners' lives, it acquires a central role of necessity. It is the skill of the director that he manages to push it to the sidelines and relegate it to supporting status.

Unlike the first part, where Ching was essentially looking after his friend, here he is left to fend for himself. He immediately gets on the bad side (as if there were another) of the new maniacal Officer Zau (Elvis Tsui), who looks appropriately ominous and suitably deranged throughout the proceedings. This time, the tug of war is between the Honkies and the Mainlanders, with Ching caught in the middle. Although he befriends the Mainlanders' boss Dragon (Chen Sung Young), a very restrained but forceful character, Ching's conflict with Zau finds indirect expression in the Officer's recruitment of an agent provocateur in Skull, a hot-headed but cravenly Mainlander.

When a Honkie triad boss is murdered by Skull, Dragon gets framed for it, and Ching gets framed for ratting on Dragon. Dragon makes his daring escape, followed briefly by Ching who flees for his life after Zau attempt to put him in the cell with the Mainlanders (which, given circulating rumors, means sure death). Ching and Dragon stumble across each other during their escape and bond during their perilous journey to get Ching's son from the orphanage. Ching is eventually captured and has to face the wrath of Zau and the Mainlanders.

This time around, the film spends more time developing Ching's character. Here we see for the first time the details of his wife's manslaughter. The caring father duty and love are more emphasized (reduced to a hilarious episode in the first film) and in fact made the prime motivation for Ching's behavior that lands him in direct trouble with Zau. The subplot with Dragon is thus secondary, supporting mostly Ching's efforts to reunite with his son, whose affection he fears he is losing.

As is customary for sequels, Prison on Fire II is bloodier, with more fights, and even some deaths. Zau is a veritable nutcase even compared to Scarface (whose evil aura came mostly from the camera always shooting from a low position upwards). Although Scarface was given some justification for his hatred of triads (stabbed by a member), Zau is simply sadistic. He does not hesitate to attack a fellow officer when the latter tries to stop him from killing Ching. The fighting sequences are more elaborate and more immediate here too, but still not explicit enough to make them the centerpiece of the film.

All in all, the sequel is better than the first part, mostly because of the expanded concentration on Ching. There is much more motivation for his behavior, there is good background detail, and there is particularly well developed formation of his friendship with Dragon (something that was glaringly missing from the first part). Ringo Lam strikes a balance without sacrificing any of the necessary unsettling realities of prison life, but still avoiding exploitation tricks. Chow Yun-Fat is incredible, and Chen Sung Young is very likable as well.

The Universe DVD's quality matches that of the film's predecessor. The picture is generally good, although a bit soft and showing some compression problems here and there. There is less noise in the Cantonese soundtrack, but there is some nevertheless. The English subtitles are bright and readable, although not error-free. Extras include star bios and the trailer.

October 4, 2001.