Slow Fade
Director: Daniel Chan
Year: 1999
Rating: 6.5
This first effort from director Daniel Chan shows
a great deal of promise. He clearly has a handle on the technical and artistic
aspects of filmmaking and fills the frame with real visual flair. Something
interesting – odd camera angles, distortion, speeding up, figures bathed in
strange hues – makes the film seem more intriguing than it really is. The
film definitely has an arty/indie feel to it that looks to be much more influenced
by US Indies than HK films. The film is kind of compelling and yet also distant.
The problem is that Chan seems so intent on showing us every film technique
and trick in the book (as talented first time directors are wont to do) that
he creates a bit of a barrier between the viewer and the characters. One
feels distanced from the story – and for all the snazzy filmmaking – in the
end it is ultimately a disappointing experience. Though you can admire what
the director is doing, I never connected with the characters and their lives
at all - and felt very little emotion at the end.
There are some excellent performances though - from Roy Cheung - doing his
bad guy again, but in a wonderfully dapper and evil way, Akira Koieyama as
a Japanese hitman and Josie Ho as a hostess girl with the proverbial heart
of gold. The problem is though that these were supporting roles - and the
main character played by Ken Wong was such an irritating loser that you wanted
him to step in front of a moving car.
The title refers to the slow fade of Wong’s world - his dreams, his
hopes, his life. The film begins with some dazzling shots of Hong Kong at
night and then a sense of speeding through the dark,curving, silent streets.
This though is seemingly a metaphor for the drug high that Wong is in the
middle of – and it turns out to be a near lethal overdose. He ends up in
a hospital where he meets another patient – Josie Ho – and through flashbacks
his life story spills out in drips and drabs. With a seemingly good future
and a loving wife (Sara Au), he begins a series of mis-steps that sends his
life into a tailspin. He first allows a friend (Jimmy Wong) to talk him into
joining a criminal group – but when their activities escalate into murder,
he wants to get out. There is no getting out of course – until he becomes
a drug addict and disappears down the dark hole of that world.
He then tries to get his life together – decides he loves Josie – a hostess
in a nightclub – and so goes to her boss, Roy Cheung, and asks for him to
release her from her duties. Sure, Cheung says – but first I need a little
favor – smuggle some drugs into Macau for me – and we are even. A number
of dead bodies and double crosses later and Wong’s life looks headed for
a fast fade.
The pieces are in place for an involving film – but it never clicks. You
just don’t care enough about what happens to Wong - whether he finds
redemption in the arms of Josie Ho or not. Chan has the film bouncing around
so much that no emotional cord is created. Still this is a well made film
– lots of creative ideas taking place – and is another good indication that
HK films are far from dead – and willing to explore new avenues. This film
apparently was shown at a number of festivals around the world – Berlin,
Cannes and New York to mention a few.