For those who've just tuned in, our main character, Kozo, is the webmaster and main reviewer for the hugely entertaining and deliciously insulting website, LoveHKFilm.com. Against type (by Hollywood standards anyway), Kozo is a risk-taking, emotional, and sometimes delightfully cynical character who regularly apologizes for the wonderfully unapologetic reviews that he is known for. Always striving to be true to himself and yet trying to be practical, Kozo struggles to keep his site alive with relative success until finally, in what appears to be the ultimate reward, he is invited to work in the Holy Land: Hong Kong. Those of you who have kept up with the Life with Kozo saga remember his shocking decision to go to Hong Kong, wondering if his passion for Hong Kong Film would dissipate once he experienced the realities of living there. And thus begins Kozo's Divine Comedy. In a horrible, hilarious and strangely cruel twist of fate, our hero is taken to his mecca, only to find that Hong Kong film is at an all-time slump.
     Part 4 opens with Kozo's very candid admission, "I bitch a lot". He goes on to explain that his moods affect his updates and that he has no right to complain because, as he's repeated several times in previous installments, he's so very lucky. At this point, Kozo progressively explores deeper layers of his own personal hell, as it were. The current onslaught of unbelievably bad Hong Kong film drives the devoted webmaster to his own film collection from which he chooses to watch "comfort films" or anything that will purge his lack of motivation and help him reconnect with the enthusiasm he once knew. Tragically, our hero receives a daunting emotional blow at the suggestion that maybe he wants to dislike movies. The suggestion is that instead of trashing the industry, he should be supportive and say something positive. (This reviewer feels that perhaps some people have confused LoveHKFilm with LoveKissingHKFilmAss. Hong Kong film is digging it's own grave thank you very much.) As a result, our hero considers that he himself might be the problem. (Again, this reviewer feels like maybe the problem is with Hong Kong? Maybe the problem is his job? Is this the only reviewer who feels that quitting a life-draining job/lifestyle would be a solution? But enough of me.)
     At this point, we fear we may lose Kozo to social pressures and the absurd realities of working, trying to learn a new language, finding his way around Hong Kong, running a website, avoiding bad movies, reviewing the movies he hasn't walked out of, keeping his dream alive...and this truly is the deepest level of hell and a turning point in Kozo's Divine Comedy. Our hero launches into a series of monologues where he reveals insightful details about his life. He explores feelings of being trapped by what he's created, the complexities of managing his creation, and more importantly mourns the loss of the all-powerful life giving force: FUN. How much further can he go? Was going to Hong Kong really luck? We knew that going to work in Honk Kong would not be the same as pursuing his desire to, in his own words, "immerse himself in another culture, escape the confines of Hollywood and check out the unknown." Instead, we know that most of his days are probably spent indoors, doing someone else's bidding, being drained of all creative energies. Did our hero make a huge mistake in his life design?
     On the surface Part 4 may not seem like a triumph. We fear the loss of LoveHKFilm.com as we witness our hero consider whether or not he has truly been following his passion or that perhaps Hong Kong film is no longer a passion at all. Martha Beck tells us that after a "catalytic event" (e.g. Huge life change) there is an inevitable Death and Rebirth process also known as going back to Square One. The logical progression would be to move to Square Two...which is what? We can be sure that Part 5 will answer this question. In the meantime, those of us who are fans of Dante clearly see that, in identifying what is truly missing from his experience thus far, Kozo is no longer really lost and has actually started the arduous ascent to find la verace via and behold once again the stars. (Buddha's Grin 2005)