[Sarai Newsletter] FILM @ SARAI

[The Sarai Programme]

FILM @ SARAI
Asian Film Cultures: Hong Kong Comedy

Friday, July 16, 2004, 4:30 pm
Love on Delivery (1994), 109 minutes
Directed by Lik-Chi Lee

Stephen Chow plays a love struck dim-sum delivery boy who falls for a 
beautiful judo student, Christy Chung. After being humiliated by her 
boyfriend, Michael Chow, Stephen goes out to learn kung-fu from an aging 
master, Ng Man Tat, who swindles Chow out of large sums of money while 
teaching him useless kung-fu "Karate Kid" style. After actually learning how 
to fight using this style (much to Man Tat's surprise) he dresses up like 
Garfield and beats up Michael Chow. But he's challenged to a fight by Ng Man 
Tat's former foe. 

This film is hilarious and features Stephen Chow, Hong Kong's King of Comedy, 
 at his most likable. What pulls the film together is Chow's endearing, 
self-effacing performance and the direction, which relies on sports-film 
construction and timing that is usually seen in Japanime. 

Friday, July 23, 2004, 4:30 pm
God of Cookery (1996), 95 minutes
Directed by Stephen Chow & Lik-Chi Lee

Stephen Chow is Sik San, the self-styled God of Cookery, an arrogant 
restaurateur who uses his image to launch substandard restaurants and poor 
quality instant food. He loses it all when he's betrayed by his employees Ng 
Man-Tat and Vincent Kok, who becomes the new God of Cookery.

Eventually, Chow must challenge Kok to regain his title, but not before he 
heads to Mainland China to learn the cooking fundamentals that he's sorely 
lacking. 'God of Cookery' parodies other cooking comedies like 'The Chinese 
Feast', as well as giving us the usual Chow themes. Stephen Chow returns with 
this frenetic comedy that reflects all of his earlier work. 

Friday, July 30, 2004, 4:30 pm
You Shoot I Shoot (2001), 94 minutes
Directed by Ho Cheung Ping

Eric Kot plays an assassin who has trouble finding work due to the Asian 
financial crisis. One of his clients offers a lot of work on the condition 
that it must be filmed. Kot finds a wannabe director, Cheung Tat Ming, who 
idolizes Martin Scorcese, and has initial objections to their new 
partnership, especially after he realises that they are actually killing 
people. However, as the accolades roll in, Cheung succumbs to the allure of 
their new business. They soon become the toast of the hitmen-hiring, which 
means even more complications: copycat killers, annoying clients, and the 
eventual brush with the law.

Director Edmond Pang and producer Vincent Kok co-wrote this black comedy, 
which is almost gleeful in its approach. Hong Kong's economic climate, the 
business of assassination and Hong Kong's sagging film industry are all 
parodied by the filmmakers. 

-- 
Ranita Chatterjee
The Sarai Programme
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054
Tel:  (+91) 11 23960040
       (+91) 11 23942199, ext 307
Fax: (+91) 11 23943450
www.sarai.net