Friday, December 22, 2023

A Little TLC(w): Where the Wind Blows (2022)

*Premise spoilers.*

After multiple years with very few new films from Tony Leung Chiu-wai, we’ve been spoiled lately. It was a long wait for Shang-Chi, but since then, I’ve had a chance to see two new performances from him, and I know he has two more completed films awaiting release (including The Goldfinger, his onscreen reunion with Andy Lau, which is coming out at the end of the year!) When it comes to Where the Wind Blows, we’re treated to an impeccable performance in a beautiful but uneven movie.

Told across multiple decades, this film follows a pair of officers in the notoriously corrupt Hong Kong Police Force working under the British between the 1950s and 1970s. Despite his idealistic beginnings, Lui Lok sets out to control as much of the system as he can. At his side is the ever-observant Nam Kong. Two very different men with very different approaches, they rule the streets, until those differences inevitably come between them.

The first thing I want to note about this film is how gorgeous it looks. Period pieces tend to look beautiful anyway, and the production design is great, but the direction is also sumptuous and stylish. The action scenes look cool as hell, and Lui Lok’s early courtship with his future wife, Tsai Zhen, has all the romance of an old Hollywood movie. Similarly, the music works in conjunction with what’s onscreen to add to every scene and make it sing.

Unfortunately, the story is pretty overstuffed. Even with nearly a two-and-a-half-hour runtime, it rushes through important moments in the characters’ lives and the overall history it’s capturing. The film also uses a nonlinear structure, although not to the extent that Hidden Blade does. For the most part, I don’t think the time-skipping is all that necessary.

But even though the film tries to do too much at times and doesn’t hold my attention all the way through, I still enjoyed it. In addition to all the stylistic coolness I mentioned, I like how the central relationship between the main characters is played. It’s undeniably a story about both of them, and the state of their relationship affects a lot around them, but at the same time, it’s an aspect that weaves in and out of the plot in intriguing ways.

I’ll admit that I’m not familiar with Aaron Kwok, who plays Lui Lok, but he’s very good in the role. You can feel how he’s shifted to a man whose self-interest and gratification takes precedent over everything else, a long way from his roots as someone who used to be principled to his own detriment. Of the two main characters, he’s looser and more outwardly charismatic, an extrovert and a charmer, but he can be dangerous too, with a hot temper that can flare up unpredictably.

Then there’s Nam Kong, played by Leung. While it’s repeatedly emphasized that Lui Lok is someone who rose from nothing, who grew up with little education, Nam Kong comes from a well-to-do family where he was afforded every opportunity. If Lui Lok is the charming hotheaded one, Nam Kong is the steady, respectable one. Contrasted against his partner in crime, his character seems clear enough, and he’s always undeniably himself, but when you look closer, he’s harder to pin down.

It's easy to see Nam Kong as smart and quiet, the one who stands back and watches while Lui Lok takes the stage. In fact, there’s a scene where we cut back-and-forth between Nam Kong talking Lui Lok through their plan to own the city and Lui Lok actually presenting that plan to their British superiors. In many scenes, Nam Kong is in the background while Lui Lok is out front—it’s no accident that Nam Kong is the one accompanying his friend on the piano when Lui Lok’s dancing catches the eye of his future wife.

And certainly, that is a big part of who Nam Kong is. But it’s not accurate to say he always plays second fiddle for the more outspoken Lui Lok or operates mostly behind the scenes. He has an amiable side to him as well, along with a cheeky side and a showy side. When Lui Lok first meets him, Nam Kong’s claim to fame is a daring rescue he made of abducted officials, collecting all his colleagues’ bullets before going in and stopping the crooks singlehandedly. There’s another scene where he needs to try and break up a riot to prevent unnecessary clashes with the police. As he prepares to go in, he asks Lui Lok, “Do you think I should smoke now or not?”, conscious of the image he wants to present to the rioters.

It's just such an interesting performance. Nam Kong is slick but with a kind of sincerity, and he’s extremely patient right up until he’s had enough. He pines like only characters played by Leung can, and he tells you just as much when he’s sitting in the background as he does when he’s front and center. I really love what Leung does here.

Recommend?

In General – I think so. Even though the script works against it at times, I ultimately thought it was worth watching.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Definitely. Leung does great work with this character and keeps you guessing!

Warnings

Violence, sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, language, and strong thematic elements.

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