 |
| Images courtesy of 88 Films |
The curious thing about action director-actor-screenwriter
Joe Cheung’s 1986 Hong Kong action-romcom favorite Rosa involving Yuen
Biao as a beleaguered cop paired up with a hothead officer played by Lowell Lo
is that it pairs together a number of unlikely creative forces you wouldn’t
expect to see on the court simultaneously.
Produced by Sammo Hung and based off a screenplay co-authored by Hard
Boiled screenwriter Barry Wong and future romantic filmmaking legend Wong
Kar-Wai, it represents a playful and curiously emotional cross-romance amid an
action thriller involving martial arts stunt work and a healthy dose of
hilarity mixed in with the excitement.
Given a deluxe boxed-set Blu-ray rerelease sourced from a new 2K
restoration from 88 Films, Western filmgoers only familiar with the highlights
of the aforementioned holy trinity of creative powers in Hung, Wong and Wai
have a chance to see them really play ball together, scoring a few minor home
runs along the way.
Following two ambitious police academy graduates eager to seize
on their first big case, Ha ‘Little Monster’ (Yuen Biao) is paired with officer
Lui Gung (Lowell Lo) who begin as sworn mortal enemies involving the fact that
Ha has romantic relations with Lui’s sister (Kara Hui) soon bond over their
mission to locate a missing police informant.
Their search leads them to Rosa (Lu Hsiao-Fen), the informant’s
girlfriend who herself owes the mob money under the veil of death threats or
sex trafficking. Joining forces with the
hapless cops who at one point go undercover as mobsters including but not
limited to the unfortunate use of some blackface, the antics soon balloon into
a full-blown mixture of slapstick and the action-comedy thriller including but
not limited to a very bullet and punch-kicking grand finale that’s well worth
the wait. But even before all of that
ensues, you can sense the eventual mind behind In the Mood for Love or Chungking
Express in the interpersonal relations particularly when Rosa and Lui’s sister
become friends bonding over the cops’ mutual romantic relations with them. Sure a lot of things blow up and punches are
thrown, yet its these moments in between that really make the film shine.
A mixture of hilarious and heartfelt, the goofy over-the-top
action-packed flick alongside a perky and bright romantic dramedy as well as a
buddy cop movie, Rosa is a Hong Kong actioner with a difference. From the same director as Flaming Brothers,
also penned by Wong Kar-Wai, it offers up a slick mixture of martial-arts, car
chases, gunfire and somehow amid all of that a little room for tenderness. The casting is crucial with Yuen Biao on the
rise while Lowell Lo makes an excellent irate counterpart while Kara Hui and Lu
Hsiao-Fen play off of each other wonderfully as opposite but equally devoted
women who prove to be the key to easing tensions between the partnered police
officers. Yeah as aforementioned there’s
that one instance of blackface that’s there but coming from a Hong Kong action-romcom
it’s just there as you keep moving on.
When it isn’t leaning into ill-timed jokes like that, it works pretty
well as a buddy cop triangular romcom penned by a soon-to-be master of Chinese
cinema.
88 Films have, well, gone above and beyond what you would
expect for this one movie. Rather than granting
it the usual slipcover and amaray case edition, they housed the film in a hardbound
box replete with a booklet, reversible sleeve art and a double-sided
postcard. Even the box itself has
specially lettered lenticular printing on it, making this an extra special release
even after such releases as The Cat and the upcoming Saga of the Phoenix
boxed sets. Overall its hard to go
wrong with this one, another hit from the maker of the also strong buddy cop
flick Flaming Brothers. 88 Films
have given fans and newcomers more than enough to feast on here with this
deluxe packaging that looks so nice when displayed on the shelf. Absolutely recommended for those keen on Hong
Kong actioners of the 1980s featuring many cooks in the kitchen you’d never
expect to see together.
--Andrew Kotwicki
