Hong Kong director Herman Yau (filmography) has a new film opening this week, Split Second Murders[死神傻了]. Though the massive casting of neophyte stars has me a bit wary, I am still excited to see this one. Personally, I have always admired director Yau’s ability as a filmmaker to create substance in a rapidly declining market. In short, he has a keen knack for making more with less than any other local director working currently. And while his films may lack the higher end polish of some of his contemporaries, his works are often more critical of local culture and subculture (One of my own personal favorites is his film Herbal Tea [男上女下 - 2004]).
You can take a look at the trailer below (note: no subs on this one).
#1 by Nury on October 8, 2009 - 11:26 am
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Dear Fox, love your film site, really interesting. I work quite a bit with screenwriters so have an interest in Asian movies. I also enjoy your comments. Can you give me your real name (or a pen name) so that I can quote you in newspapers and magazines?
thanks — nury@vittachi.com
#2 by Timo on October 8, 2009 - 11:04 pm
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I couldn’t quite figure out whether this was one of Yau’s for-hire projects (the Halloween/B-Idol theme led me to think so) but this entry got me a bit more interested. I think Yau is hugely underrated and I like his stuff a lot. So is this a commercial film or is it not?
By the way, is there still an empty spot in your group of “Hong Kong cinephiles?”
I’d love to go and watch HK movies with people with whom I can actually discuss what I just saw on more than just a superficial level.
#3 by Fox on October 11, 2009 - 12:18 am
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Hi Timo,
To your first question I would say that Split Second Murders is definitely ‘commercial’ in going after a certain target audience. A director wouldn’t just arbitrarily use FAMA or Chrissie Chau as leads without knowing who will go to see them, so this film is definitely trying to hit up the same market as Patrick Kong’s films. But the substance and style here is quite different and there are critical messages (based on some very local contexts) running throughout the film. Kevin and I will definitely be talking about allot of these points in the next podcast (#10).
As to your next question, we don’t have ’spots’ really, just a group that has built up over the years (it started out as just me and Kozo from http://www.lovehkfilm.com). These days we have around 7 on a full night, so if you are in Hong Kong you are welcome to join us. We typically watch films on Thursday nights with an optional after-film discussion/rant session at a dessert shop. I will mail you the details of our next movie night if you are still interested. Just post me an email to let me know.
#4 by Fox on October 11, 2009 - 12:22 am
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Thanks Mr. Vittachi,
Love your work and have for years (check out http://www.mrjam.org if you are not familiar with the writings of Nury Vittachi). I have sent you a private email regarding your questions.
#5 by Timo on October 11, 2009 - 1:30 am
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Thanks for letting me know! My email is mercuryprey (at) gmail dot com.
Would be happy to hear from you!
Timo