"The Lonely Agent" is different from the fast pace of traditional Hong Kong gangster movies.
During the golden age of Hong Kong films, it was rare for a film to have a complete script, and even the incredible profession of "paper boy" emerged.
The so-called "flying paper boy" is when the screenwriter makes up temporary works on the set. Wang Jing often did this before he became famous.
The consequence of this is that the structure of many Hong Kong films is not rigorous, giving people a patchwork feel.
And many times, the script given by the screenwriter cannot support the ninety-minute film length, so... the plot is not enough, and the fighting is used to make it up.
One of the reasons for this is that Hong Kong films are so popular that people throughout Southeast Asia and even Japan and South Korea are rushing to get them.
In this era, except for Japan, which has already developed, no other place in Asia has its own film industry. They will watch whatever is filmed with gusto.
Every employee in the industry is working on several dramas at the same time. They work continuously every day and are so busy that they have no time to do this or that with you.
In this case, the plot of the movie is often a very simple line, with two forces confronting each other.
If the protagonist is not a policeman, then the police are just soy sauce. After the protagonist finishes dealing with the villain, the police will come out to clean up the floor.
"The Lonely Agent", on the other hand, plays on multiple lines at the same time, with many characters appearing and can be divided into six or seven groups of forces.
But the narrative is clear, the editing is neat, and every line is explained clearly.
Every character involved has a distinct personality, appropriate details, and a beginning and end.
Eventually, these clues come together to outline a complete story.
In order to prevent the audience from being unable to adapt, Johnnie To used a large group of talented actors to play important roles in the movie.
The protagonist line is divided into two, one is the male protagonist Artai played by Liu Hua.
He was once an agent of CIA6. Due to revenge by his enemies, his wife who was pregnant with their child died tragically and he was also seriously injured.
After recovering from his injury, he chose to retire and opened a pawn shop to live life, looking unkempt and depressed all day long.
One is the heroine Xiaomi played by Liu Yifei.
Xiaomi is only eight years old and is a neighbor of Atai.
Her mother is a dancer and is often away from home.
The little girl had no one to care about her and was in need of love, so she often went to play with the uncle next door.
Although she is young, she is so strong and sensible that it makes people feel heartbroken.
When Artai sees Xiaomi, he often thinks of his wife and unborn child.
This became a glimmer of light in his life, so he has been taking care of Xiaomi silently.
There are also some warm scenes in the movie.
For example, he deliberately let Xiaomi see the sausages he just bought, so that Xiaomi would actively ask to eat at his house.
Xiaomi's mother is played by Ye Yuqing. She took the opportunity to steal a bag of "flour" while the police were handling the case.
As a result, a Vietnamese gang came to his door and killed him, and Xiaomi was also taken away.
I found Ye Yuqing to play the role because there is a very scary full-body scene in the movie, and she didn't care about the exposure point.
It was impossible for Yang Ye to take care of everything. He only confirmed the three roles of Liu Hua, Ye Yuqing and Liu Yifei. The other roles were chosen by Du Qifeng himself.
The two brothers of the villainous Vietnam Gang are played by Simon Yam and Francis Ng respectively.
Yang Ye was in Vietnam every day. When he was filming "Boxer", Vietnamese people inexplicably went to Yunnan to steal elephants.
Later, during the filming of "The Bodyguard of Zhongnanhai", he beat up a Vietnam veteran.
Now in the movie "The Lonely Agent", the Vietnamese gang is engaged in human organ trafficking in Hong Kong.
There is also a perverted killer under the Vietnamese brothers, played by Zou Zhaolong.
There are also two younger brothers, one is Lin Jiadong and the other is Lin Xue.
Lam Suet is Johnnie To's favorite actor. His acting skills are very good and he is a golden supporting role in Hong Kong movies.
Lam Jiadong is Dongguan Zai, the hurdle champion in "Underworld".
Lin Jiadong is Liu Hua's younger brother, and Liu Hua takes him with him in everything he does.
Opposing the Vietnamese gang are the local gangs and Lian Sheng. The boss is played by Liang Jiahui. He has very few scenes and is just a guest appearance.
The main figures in the police are Fang Zhongxin and Liu Qingyun.
In addition, there is a human trafficker played by Pralan, who controls a group of "ants".
The so-called "ants" are a group of children controlled by traffickers. They use these children to transport drugs and hide money.
These people are the actors Johnnie To usually likes to use in filming, and all of them are good at acting.
In front of them, Liu Hua looked like an idol.
However, the design of Artest's character is a decadent and cold handsome man.
Putting on a straight face can cover up his lack of acting skills.
As for the heroine Liu Yifei, she is just a little girl and she is cute, which is already half the battle.
In addition, since Liu Xiaoli often went to the set to take care of her daughter, Johnnie To asked her to help guest star as Artest's dead wife.
……
The little loli played by Liu Yifei is so cute. She attracted the attention of many viewers as soon as she appeared.
She came from a poor background and went to steal something without food or water. She was caught and called a beggar, and the police were called.
Just when she was feeling frightened and helpless, she found the uncle next door looking at her not far away.
She lied that the uncle next door was her father, but Liu Hua was unwilling to recognize her because she had stolen something, so he pretended not to know her and walked away.
In the evening, she said to Liu Hua with tears in her eyes: "Uncle, you also feel embarrassed about me, so you pretend you don't know me, right?
It doesn't matter, teachers and classmates are all like this.
Mom also said that if you get lost, just pretend that you don’t remember your home address and phone number. As soon as she came home, she kept saying that she wanted to die together.
My uncle is worse than the rich boy who called me a beggar. But I don’t hate you. If I even hate you, there will be no one I can like. ”
As soon as these words came out, many people in the cinema shed tears. Such a cute little loli looked so pitiful, it was really heartbreaking.
The whole movie has a very gloomy cold tone, and warm tones only appear when Artest recalls his wife.
Liu Xiaoli has never filmed, but there are only two scenes in her movie, one in the hospital and one in the car.
Every time he appears, he always looks at Artest with a smile, looking like he is peacefully passing through time.
She was very beautiful, and even though it was just a glimpse, she amazed many viewers.
In a gloomy environment, Xiaomi is like a beam of light that can illuminate others.
In particular, there are many small details arranged for her in the movie, such as cooking for the decent uncle, doing manicures, and putting Band-Aids on the villainous uncle...
The black and white two-way killing is very heartwarming!
……
In the final decisive battle, Liu Hua cut off her long hair and kept a full bob, and went deep into the tiger's den to save Xiaomi.
Ren Dahua asked him: "What on earth do you do? Who are you that little girl? Can you chase her here?"
Liu Hua said calmly: "The uncle next door!"
These four simple words moved countless viewers.
"Uncle next door? Are you fucking crazy?"
“Where is Xiaomi?”
Simon Yam threw a bottle to Liu Hua, which contained a pair of eyeballs, and said arrogantly: "She went to heaven to find her mother, but she couldn't find her without eyes."
Liu Hua's eyes were red, and he clutched the bottle tightly, like a beast coming out of its cage, ushering in a complete explosion.
The action scenes arranged for Liu Hua in the movie are all close-up bunts, which are clean and neat, without all the exaggerated moves in traditional Hong Kong movies.
Liu Hua held the dagger backwards, with the blade facing inward, stabbing backwards, diagonally, horizontally, and sideways. The knife was bloody and full of tension.
Finally, there was a dagger duel with Zou Zhaolong, who played the perverted killer, which was hearty and thrilling to watch. When he finally killed Zou Zhaolong and caught up with Simon Yam, the other party hid in a car with bulletproof glass and shamelessly called the police.
"Fuck, this is bulletproof glass. When the police come, you'll be dead."
Nothing could stop Liu Hua from taking revenge. He raised his gun and pointed it at the glass with a cold face.
Shot after shot, fired continuously, each shot hit the same place, slowly piercing the glass, beating Simon Yam into a sieve.
After beating Simon Yam to death, he raised the gun and pointed it at his head.
His only sustenance in this world was dead, and he himself had no hope of life.
At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from behind.
"Uncle, are you here to save me?"
It turns out that the little girl is so warm-hearted that she takes all uncles in both black and white, and the perverted killer Zou Zhaolong was also influenced by her.
Ren Dahua sent Zou Zhaolong to kill the little girl. When the perverted doctor was about to gouge out Xiaomi's eyes, Zou Zhaolong killed the doctor, dug out his eyes and took him back for questioning.
The little girl ran towards the uncle, hugged his leg and cried, "Uncle, you are here to save me, right, right!"
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The cold uncle also shed tears.
At this moment, the uncle with a cold appearance and a gentle heart, and the cute, sensible and lovable little loli captured the hearts of countless viewers.
……
After the movie ended, there was endless applause.
Afterwards, the main creators went on stage to interact with the guests and the audience.
After watching the movie, everyone had a lot to say and raised their hands to speak.
Host Lin Jianming looked around and invited Huang Zhan to speak first.
When Liu Hua saw Huang Zhan standing up, he was a little panicked. He was afraid that Huang Zhan would scold him again.
Huang Zhan doesn’t like to play with bad guys, while Liu Hua’s cultural level is not high, but he likes to write lyrics. Huang Zhan said bluntly, “I have never seen such a stupid lyricist.”
Liu Hua invited Huang Zhan to his concert. Huang Zhan said that if your singing is so ugly, who would listen to it?
After that, he still complained in the column, and he continued to criticize Liu Hua for three years.
Liu Hua persevered and gave tickets to Huang Zhan every time he held a concert.
Later, Huang Zhan finally went to listen to it. After listening to it, he changed his mind greatly: "You sang well, I want to write a song for you."
Liu Hua said to Huang Zhan: "Can you please stop scolding me so hard in the future?"
Huang Zhan smiled and patted Liu Hua on the shoulder: "Don't give up, people will make progress. I have scolded you for three years, but I understand your current works."
At this moment, Huang Zhan took the microphone and said: "When I saw the promotion before, I thought it was a copycat of Luc Besson's "The Killer Is Not So Cold" last year.
After reading it, I realized that the two have nothing to do with each other. The killer is a forbidden love that is close to love, while the agent is a father-daughter love that is close to family affection.
Then I saw that the story was written by Aye, and it turned out to be extraordinary. Although it was a simple story, it was told clearly and delicately.
Compared with those shoddy assembly-line movies on the market today, it is nothing more than a difference.
Let’s talk about Andy’s performance... Don’t be nervous, I don’t mean to scold you! ”
Liu Hua quickly begged for mercy. Huang Zhan often complained about Liu Hua in his column. As everyone knows, he couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this.
Huang Zhandao: "I remember when Wong Kar-wai was filming "Carmen", he told you not to always think about being cool.
I used to think your acting skills were not good. After watching this movie today, I was wrong.
It turns out that being cool is also an acting skill, and you did a very good job. ”
Liu Hua breathed a sigh of relief and complimented: "Thank you Mr. Huang Zhan for your review, but I think you performed better in this movie."
Huang Zhan made a cameo appearance in the movie as an old man who runs a small supermarket.
Liu Yifei stole something from his store and left. Liu Hua followed and asked how much it cost.
Huang Zhan looked at the chess records, the researcher of Go, and said casually: "Forget it, I always had this problem when I was a child.
After giving birth to a child, let her wander around alone every day. Like other dads, bring it here to play often! ”
This scene is very tender, and Huang Zhan played the nonchalant yet generous gesture very well.
He said proudly: "You don't have to tell me this, I know it. But I'm still very jealous of you. After filming this movie, more women will love you!"
Then, Huang Zhan commented on Liu Yifei again, and was sourly jealous that Yang Ye had such a lovely daughter.
Afterwards, Yuan Heping commented on the action scenes in the movie: "I think this action scene is very unique. In our movies in the past, a battle often took half a day.
We action directors want to break our heads and design all kinds of thrilling actions, but this movie doesn't have that.
Every time Andy takes action, he is quick, ruthless and accurate, with no unnecessary movements, direct and brutal, which is in line with his status as an agent. ”
The host asked: "How do you think Mr. Liu Hua's action scenes compare with those of kung fu actors?"
Yuan Heping said: "It's not as good as professional kung fu actors. Among non-kung fu actors, he is the best!"
When it was Yang Ye's turn, he first affirmed Johnnie To's directorial skills. I think Johnnie To owes a lot to the fact that the film was made like this.
In Yang Ye's view, the original version of "Uncle" still feels a bit lukewarm, and ordinary viewers may not be able to get into the drama when they first watch it.
And Johnnie To is much better than the director of the original version, and the film was shot exceptionally smoothly.
Liu Hua is as cool and cool as Yuan Bin, Liu Yifei is also very lovable, and with the blessing of a bunch of acting talents, the effect of the whole movie is better than the original version.
Then he praised all the actors and thought that their performances were all excellent.
Then he commented: "In our current movies, the literary scenes are shot too quickly, and the martial arts scenes are shot too slowly.
The play was like a reminder, it was over quickly and the beating started, and the beating continued for a long time. It was just for the sake of beating.
We made this movie in the hope of changing this pattern. The literary and theatrical dramas should be sufficiently foreshadowing, and the martial arts dramas should be just right.
I hope the audience can see our sincerity and like the film. ”
Finally, he commented on Liu Hua: "As for Andy, he started filming with me right after he debuted. I watched him come all the way.
Many people say that he only knows how to be cool if he doesn't know how to act, but today Uncle Zhan said it well, being cool is also an acting skill.
In fact, the original intention of designing this drama was to amplify this characteristic of Andy Lau.
So far, it seems that everyone's response is very enthusiastic and the effect is good. I hope it will have a good box office. ”
Liu Hua couldn't help but blush after hearing Yang Ye's words.
In the past two years, he has failed miserably.
"The Legend of God of War" has five directors, including Hung King-pao, Luo Qirui, Zhang Wanting, Cheng Xiaodong and Yuan Kui, as well as Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung to co-star in the film, and a killer whale to be cute.
Such a luxurious lineup, coupled with vigorous publicity, cost a total of 60 million Hong Kong dollars. After the release, the local box office only received 13 million. Overseas sales were also unsatisfactory, with a loss of 30 million.
"Forever", which had high hopes, used the creativity of Wong Kar-wai's "Days of Being Wild" and followed the style of an art film, but only collected 9 million at the box office.
A desperate effort to create "Heaven and Earth" with 30 million yuan, after its release, the local box office only received 10 million yuan.
After the success of "Heaven and Earth", he starred in "The Killer's Fairy Tale", which had a box office as low as only 5 million.
After two years, it suffered a huge loss of 50 million, and its box office appeal dropped to zero. It had no choice but to mortgage the company to Cai Songlin of Scholar Company.
He was too embarrassed to go back to Yang Ye and planned to sell himself to Yongsheng to make a movie to pay off his debt.
Unexpectedly, Yang Ye suddenly took action and called him back to film.
Liu Hua remembered that Yang Ye had said to him before: "I originally wrote this drama and filmed it with my daughter, but I have been busy with too many things recently, so I hope you will act in it, Andy..."
Yang Ye gave him such a good role, but he didn't mention it at the scene today. He just said that the play was tailor-made for him.
For eighteen years, Yang Ye has been taking great care of him. He once made him famous in Asia with the movie "If There is Love".
After he left Yang Ji and set up his own business, the company was not operating well and fell into a trough in his career.
Yang Ye ignored the past grudges, gave him a hand, and even let his daughter film with him.
He didn't know how he should repay this kind of kindness. (End of chapter)