Hero Dream
Director: Lau Siu-kwan
Year: 1992
Rating: 5.0
How to go about discussing
this film? Though much of it is your basic low budget action film, it has
a few bizarre quirks that only a HK film would throw in there. Lets just
say that if naked transsexuals are your thing – this film might be something
that you want to run down – if not – well . . . it still has Michiko Nishiwaki
in it! For a somewhat perverse film it has a few well known actors in it
- Michiko of course – but also Carrie Ng and Chin Sui-Ho (Tai Chi Master
and Fist of Legend). It also seems to have had Fuji Film as a sponsor as
their logo is prominently displayed throughout. Somehow though I doubt that
they saw the script!
Michiko has some of her sexiest scenes ever
– and she plays cruel and wicked to perfection. She really doesn’t get to
perform much action – well not the fighting kind anyway – but she is mesmerizing
whenever she is on screen.
Chin Sui-Ho leads a police raid on some arms smuggler and in the ensuing
fight – an excellent one through the streets of HK – kills off Sophia Crawford.
Hello and goodbye Sophia – a very quick gweilo exit. He then goes home to
his sweet wife – Carrie Ng – who informs him that her aunt has not come.
“Your aunt?”. “My aunt!” – “I didn’t know you had an aunt”. “Not that aunt”.
Ah, Chin eventually catches on that Carrie is referring to her period – aunt
must be Cantonese slang for it?
To celebrate their future child and his killing various people in the raid
– they decide to take a vacation to Thailand. Uh oh – if you have seen enough
HK films you know that usually going to Thailand on a vacation leads to very
bad things – often being possessed by demons or sometimes just being killed.
Before they even get a chance to visit the Grand Palace things go very wrong.
At the airport a gang is chasing after a transsexual and she leaves her handbag
in the happy couple's luggage. The gang sees this – follows them back to
the hotel and then kidnap Carrie to get the bag.
It turns out that they have accidentally
gotten in the middle of a fight between two different gangs. One is run by
a sleazy little guy with a seemingly endless supply of young men in black
t-shirts who are willing to get shot. The other gang is headed by our Michiko.
Most of her men – well make that women – are transsexuals – real ones mind
you – who often go around topless. There is more silicone here than at your
typical Hollywood party.
When we first come across Michiko – at about
the 30-minute mark – she is kneading a muscle bound chap – and when he later
is a bit quick on the draw – she starts smacking the hell out of him. And
I would hate to be her pool cleaner – whenever she gets pissed off at one
of her employees she shoots him into the pool. You gotta love her!
Chin gets very upset and goes on a bit of a killing rampage. There is a lot
of action in this film – and more guys mowed down than you can keep track
of. There is also a lot of disturbing up close violence and unseemly sex
and nudity. This may not exactly be everyone’s cup of tea or arsenic.
