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Review
by Kozo: |
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is Dr. Mack, a brilliant if somewhat seedy
doctor working in the slums of Hong Kong. His old medical
school buddy/rival, Dr. Jaw (Alex To), has become a celebrated
surgeon, yet he still feels inferior to Mack. When their old
professor (Richard Ng) becomes sick and counsels Mack, Jaw
finds a way to pay his old rival back, which doesn’t mean
good things for Mack. Lau Ching-Wan co-stars as a charmless
cop in love with a local prostitute (Eileen Tung) and Andy
Hui is a naive intern who volunteers in Mack’s clinic and
ends up falling in love with bone cancer patient Hilary Tsui.
This UFO comedy/drama has virtually
no driving narrative, and plods along exploring the lives
of all these characters and how they relate to the central
one: Dr. Mack. Amazingly, it all coheres into something that’s
refreshingly witty and remarkably affecting. Lee Chi-Ngai
explores maudlin themes like the power of hope and the reality
of death, but he does so in a sophisticated, affecting manner.
As Dr. Mack, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
turns in an impressive performance, mixing humor with heartbreak
under a shell of flimsy cynicism. He is quite possibly HK’s
premier actor now that Chow Yun-Fat has left the building.
Sadly, there are a couple of off-color racial jokes that mar
the proceedings, but this is still one of the most sophisticated
HK comedies around, demonstrating surprising wit, nobility,
and heart. One of the better films of 1995. (Kozo 1996) |
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