Running on Karma

Chinese: 大隻佬

Year: 2003

Director: Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai

Producer: Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai

Writer: Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee, Yip Tin-Shing

Action: Yuen Bun

Cast: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi, Eddie Cheung Siu-Fai, Karen Tong Bo-Yu, Chun Wong, Yuen Bun

Story:

In the center of the saga Infernal Affairs, no one believed that HongKong film would come out with a picture so dangerous. Certainly, the philosophical aspirations of the situation should have puzzled several common supporter of Andy Lau TakWah or Cecilia Cheung PakChi… But despite the great (too great for many people) assortment of parts, the recipe works and you let yourself be taken through this inward journey & visible.

 

Everything begins with the striptease (built-in one!) sequence of a gigantic Andy Lau in-front of the completely hysterical Cecilia Cheung; simultaneously of the scene entirely whacked in which a contortionist indian getaway (and that is not a huge word) in the surveillance of the dozen police officers. And it is the very first hour entirely wich’ll end up like this: crossover of the cop movie plus a super-hero movie (having a homage to SpiderMan?), punctuate with action scenes fairly fascinating et topped by a philosophico-buddhist sauce wich break up views on this particular picture.

Milky-way Image, regardless of the quality of their films, seldom got us accustomed to pictures bearer of aforementioned message, which is a nice change.

It is interesting to note the karma theory go here simply to asian people (chinese, japanese, indian…) and appears to change no other tradition… Large appears, while the others also, to submit the karma and never master that way and this present, pick his own destiny. SPOILER We still can assume he is not seen their own karma and perhaps he deserves to lose the girl he loved, seven years after, and Jade Lee FungYee. As we remain within the spoilers, we too can discover that Large and his alter-ego give exactly the same strikes within the finished fight, wich certainly shows that all of this scene is truly a battle against himself inside his very head, as a result of recent events that trouble him. FIN SPOILER

His body amaze however, is wellmade enough for people to immediately get use to it. I believe this titanic body should have some signification in buddhism or perhaps in a chinese legend, because he get it in just seven days through meditation wich open his head to the karma at exactly the same time… Cecilia Cheung is consistently quite fizzy and perform a CID agent somewhat in the skids.

In the final third of the picture, we too can respect some excellent chinese landscapes, wich comes at best with the religious pursuit that Large adopts. Except a tune at one minute, the score is actually composed and spiritual including the las section of the picture.

In Short, whether you want it or not believe it, Running On Karma dares and revolutionnize in its way the codes of cinema which, witch, like everywhere else, has, theoretically, to put several successful components to create a smash-hit out-of a picture. Anyway, we expect that in the near future, HongKong studios will score more tries of the sort which, witch is changed for most.

 

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Awards: 23rd Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Winner – Best Picture
• Winner – Best Actor (Andy Lau Tak-Wah)
• Winner – Best Screenplay (Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee, Yip Tin-Shing)
• Nomination – Best Director (Johnnie To Kei-Fung)
• Nomination – Best Actress (Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi)
• Nomination – Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Cheung Siu-Fai)
• Nomination – Best Editing (Law Wing-Cheong)
• Nomination – Best Art Direction (Yu Ka-On)
• Nomination – Best Costume Design and Make-Up (Yu Ka-On and Wong Ka-Bo)
• Nomination – Best Action Design (Yuen Bun)
• Nomination – Best Original Song (“Sun Oi Ching”, performed by Anthony Wong Yiu-Ming)
• Nomination – Best Sound Effects (Martin Chappell, Mok Mei-Wah, Law Pak-Yu)
• Nomination – Best Visual Effects (Ma Man-Yin)

10th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film
• Best Actor (Andy Lau Tak-Wah)
• Best Actress (Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi)
• Best Screenplay (Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee, Yip Tin-Shing)

41st Golden Horse Award

• Nomination – Best Make-up and Costume Design (Stephanie Wong Ka-Bo)
• Nomination – Best Action Design (Yuen Bun)
• Nomination – Best Original Song (“Out of Body Love”)
• Nomination – Best Visual Effects (Stephen Ma Man-Yin) Availability: DVD (Hong Kong)