Review ‘Where The Wind Blows’: Hong Kong’s Oscar entry

Philip Yung delivers an ambitious ten-year thriller Where the wind blows, Hong Kong’s entry for the International Feature Oscar. Formerly known as Ambition theory, it’s a technically impressive feat with an equally impressive cast led by Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Fast-paced and detailed, it challenges audiences to keep up with the complex story of two police officers who rose through the ranks of Hong Kong in the 1960s and beyond.

Kwok plays Lui Lok, an initially attractive character whose principles set him apart from other policemen. Because he does not accept bribes, he is despised and even attacked, so he tries to find a way to survive while doing something good. Nam Kong (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) also wants to shake things up in a corrupt power, but may be more susceptible to temptation. While the two men apparently do business together, tensions begin to build against Hong Kong’s turbulent background under British colonial rule.

Writer-director Yung extensively researched the period and characters, and the details he uncovered are fascinating and often disturbing, revealing a dark, dog-eat-dog world. The cinematography is always interesting and the tone seems to vary from scene to scene to deliberately pay homage to other genres and filmmakers.

There is a dance number in his honor sing in the raina romance reminiscent of the work of Wong Kar-Wai and many gangster-style episodes Good day. While most of these tonal shifts work, a few take surprising turns: on one occasion, what begins as a classic romance turns into something resembling a karaoke video.

While the lead actors’ performances are superb, the few scenes in English may sound blunt to a western ear. but Where the wind blows manages to paint a vivid, stylish picture of two complicated men – and it certainly never gets boring.