Johnathan Ross' 'Asian Invasion', Episode 2 : Hong Kong. Review.

The second of the series of three shows here in the UK on BBC4 on a Tuesday evening (hope for American broadcasts, or look for downloads), each clocking in at one hour, that covers the three main territories in 'Asian Cinema'. A whole host of familiar and unfamiliar stuff for me to get new insight into, some new films to catch-up on (more Johnnie To), some great interviews (well, Stephen Chow), chance to see some clips and hear some discussion surrounding.

This time Johnathan Ross argues for the increasing quality and broad range of existing established talent, as well as new revolutionary Directors in the post-97 (or at least post 90s exile of John Woo) film industry of Hong Kong. Stephen Chow, Wong Kar-Wai, Derek Yee get interviewed - and Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Yuen Wo Ping, Michelle Yeo and more turn up in brief clips of films. Good fun, good knowledge, and probably told with more substantial knowledge than the previous show.

A brief explanation of where I stand on HK movies first. Inn the late 80s and early 90s, like everyone else, it was John Woo I was interested in besides my daily interests in Anime. I was a teenager / early 20s kind of guy, and I had experienced a shed-load of American action excess from the like of Arnie. Kind of getting bored by the time I was 15 of the usual fare that was so obviously out there, wanted something more, managed to see 'The Killer' and 'Story of Ricky' when they were fairly new, knew about 'The Untold Story' (often refered to as 'The Bun Man' back then) and the concept of HK nastiness in the form of Category 3 films. Seen a host of Jackie Chan movies too - 'Police Story' and 'Armour of God' amongst them - still consider myself a low-level fan.

I suppose it's here I realise I've seen actually quite a few HK movies, most of the 'key' ones that any self-respecting film fan would have seen, perhaps more than I had ever seen of Japanese live-action stuff until the past decade hit, and perhaps not as many if I was as interested in that style of movie making now as I was then. I just feel I drifted away to something that suits me more, with slight returns to take in the odd movie here and there, and that Japanese Cinema fits my criteria more. Oddly, the elements that make HK movies jar against my mind are drifting away, and new production styles and levels are increasingly apparent. Andrew Lau's 'Infernal Affairs' films are lovely pieces of work at many more levels than I had expected, and other Directors like Johnnie To clearly knows how to shoot a film in a very technical fashion.

Ross spends the first ten minutes or so drifting quite happily over the work of Bruce Lee, showing the action aspect of HK films as the priority over the story or shooting qualities, John Woo - mentioning the 'Heroic Bloodshed' gunplay, style and semi-camp drama of his earlier HK work, and Jackie Chan's stunts, dedication to his art and popularity. Then we're on to Stephen Chow, a man with a much longer career and commercial success than I had been aware of until 'Kung Fu Hustle' appeared. Chow talks very good English, and gives a good account of his progress and intentions : that CGI is there to assist the story and fulfill his imaginations' desires. Ross and Chow discuss films like 'God of Cookery' which gives good opportunity to mention how different or inaccesible HK comedy and movies can be to Western audiences, then onto 'King of Comedy' which reminded me of 'Hot Shots' and 'Naked Gun' a lot, and then to 'Shaolin Soccer' and 'Kung Fu Hustle' which shows the perhaps unintentional International appeal of the more relatable accessible comedy that's very comic book or cartoon in its content.

Chow offers a good 20 minutes of very interesting discussion that takes in influences like Bruce Lee, Shaw Brothers, and gives a good sense of how HK is shifting towards more commercial awareness of other territories without necessarily loosing its identity but certainly shifting away from the potentially amateurish styles of production we can easily associate with the past. It's clear Ross intends to portray the potential of Chow being a Hollywood or International star in the future, and that he embodies a progression away from HK films of old and into more modern production styles that compete on global terms more comfortably. Perhaps a little missing in the objectivity, argued more from a personal knowledge and passion rather than from a film fan testing his own passion to see if it stands up in reality.

Getting to the half-way mark, shifting to a short section that mixes Johnnie To as the master of the modern HK action movie (clips of 'Breaking News' - looks great, never really considered it much) with great diveristy and technical ability. Andrew Lau's 'Infernal Affairs' gets some footage in there, as does namesake Andy Lau, bringing us back around to Johnnie To again. Michelle Yeo gets some mentions as someone breaking into International consciousness, showing again that Ross intends to cover this all from a semi-familiar angle.

Then we get some more substantial (but still relatively brief) coverage of Wong Kar-Wai and the sumptuous visuals and romantic stories of his work, with some interview footage that allows him to mention how he intends to capture periods within HK's past, to record this fast-moving society in some way. Not overly keen on the Wong Kar-Wai romance tales, plenty of other things which catch my eye a lot more, no denying there's a stunning Director at work there, as there increasingly seems to be - at least, this programme portrays a new generation of substantial talent with the 'ability to compete' with anything Hollywood can throw our way. Not necessarily true, potentially misleading, but at least its a reasonable guideline for new fans to buy into.

Again, it's a mixture of the fairly obvious and the relatively obscure that creeps the flow of the show into unknown or more unfamiliar territory for maybe many of those watching. Derek Yee gets the last slice of the show, someone I am not at all familiar with - but 'One Night in Mongkok' has been recommended to me - and it's good to see there is at least a balance in the shows between popular / familiar appeal and new knowledge that can be experienced. The flow of the shows is great, the balance between the time offered up and the quantity of material covered slightly unsatisfactory, but overall there's a few films in there I had forgotten I had seen, some I now would like to see, and others I didn't know some of the background information too.

Very interesting show, well spliced together and passionately discussed with great knowledge, it's as good an explanation of the HK movie industry, if not slightly better than last weeks Japan episode. Now, I will be really interested to see how well he manages to cover the upcoming country that is Korea, as it's relatively new to most movie fans. Never going to please everyone, at least there's a chance of more people getting in the water and trying out the temperature. Hopefully some of them will find ways to break beyond the obvious, something which is the hardest challege for many, and find what they see as more fitting to their individual tastes and not sticking too firmly to the obvious lists of recommendations that works like this can often seem to be : they jsut need to realise the responsibility for their taste lies with them, and thats sometimes missing.

'Asian Invasion' Screening Schedule on BBC4.
'Asian Invasion' BBC4 Minisite.
'Asian Invasion' piece by Jonathan Ross at The Guardian.
'Asian Invasion' Trailer in RealPlayer form.