mad detective (2007)

eureka video's masters of cinema series is usually reserved for the work of classic filmmakers such as f.w. murnau (as seen in the recently discussed and current number 1 film of all time in the hopeandbullshitlist) and fritz lang, but johnie to & wai ka fai 2007 thriller represents a new era in the MOC structure, in the shape of a contemporary title being released theatrically through the label.

the masters of cinema series is basically the closest thing that british dvd distribution has to the criterion collection. that is to say that its a boutique studio specialising in areas of film neglected by the usual outlets, financing restoration work and releasing obscure or forgotten work. what follows is the pitch from the MOC website -

Masters of Cinema is an organic, international initiative founded in 2001 by four friends with a mutual interest in a particular type of filmmaker. Now five-strong, and living thousands of miles apart from each other in three different countries, we aim to bring pertinent information together in one place for aficionados of World Cinema. In early 2004, Masters of Cinema began working with Eureka (UK) on a Masters of Cinema Series of DVDs.



so, as i mentioned before, mad detective represents MOC's venture into contemporary film. a very brief cinema run occured in the summer, but the film was only showing anywhere remotely near me whilst i was away in paris i didnt have an oppurtunity to see it until now. now im not the biggest fan of asian cinema, and aside from the work on wong kar-wai and a bunch of akira kurosawa melodrama's ('scandal', his finest work, is available on MOC incidently) its not a part of the world with whom's cinema im overtly aware of, that is to say that i entered mad detective with an air of caution. character politics are an area of hong kong cinema that i have always got lost in and confused by, something that i pertain as to causing my dismay with the "genre" of sorts. it may sound ignorant or pretentious to refer to a whole continent's cinema as a genre, but its not meant in that manner. im acknowledging my lack of famiarity with the area of film and its simply a sign of my own losses that i may come off as ignorant! it is with great relief and slight embaressment that i can express my sincere pleasure that mad detective was enjoyed. the film is a thriller of sorts, in which the titular "mad detective", chan kwai bun, played with personal revelatory, intense charm by ching wan lau. the character of bun, a disgraced former detective (disgraced through the act of cutting his own ear off and giving it to his superior as a retirement gift) has the ability to literally "see" a persons inner-character, a technique that he has used to solve many obscure crimes over the years. he is called back into action after a former colleague goes missing while on duty and appears to have turned to a life of crime. what i found to be especially refreshing about the film was the lack of the sort of twist/turn that one has come to expect from a modern hollywood thriller. at the same time it didnt feel conventional at all, which is an very subtle but huge achievement. the basic premise, followed by an equally basic turn of events lead one to compare the film to the american film noir of the forties, structure-wise at least, so in effect the film is not hugely different from its masters of cinema peers.

the next contemporary release will be tokyo sonato, heading to cinema's on the 30th january before hitting dvd some two months later. i will no doubt be picking it up on dvd at the very least, although i do hope i will have the opportunity to actually see this release in a cinema. as mentioned above im not the hugest fan of contemporary asian cinema but trust and value the MOC series to deliver a quality product, although i do hope that some contemporary french and german cinema is on the cards.