Strangers Meet on the Way
Director: Wong Siu-ming/Du Yun-ping
Year: 2001
Rating: 5.5
It does make one
a little bit sad to see past action stars like Jade Leung and Yu Rong Guang
appearing in low budget productions such as this one that have all the characteristics
of straight to vcd. It seems so recent that these two were thrilling viewers
with such fare as Black Cat and Iron Monkey – but in terms of their career
it must feel like a lifetime ago for them. Of course, its not only their
careers that have taken a slight detour but Hong Kong action film in general
is far from what is was in the early 90’s. Ironically, it is now that Hollywood
is discovering it and the Western media is extolling it.
Perhaps it is simply affection for these two stars that lies latent in my
heart – especially for Jade – but I found the film more involving than I had
anticipated. There really isn’t a lot to recommend this film for – the plot
feels weary and the action is sparse and mediocre – but I followed it through
to the end and was glad to have done so. The characters slowly grow on you
as the film proceeds and so by the end you really do want to know the outcome
of their fates.
Jade Leung plays Pin – apparently a shoe shine woman in Guangzou -
who catches the attention of Wayne Lai. He is a photographer who attempts
to hustle tourists into allowing him to take their pictures for exorbitant
amounts. He works the same patch of ground as Jade and after some initial
enmity between them they become friends. Needless to say, Jade is no ordinary
shoe shine person – and it turns out that Yu Rong Guang and his gang of ruffians
are searching the earth for her and some missing money. Throw into this mix
the fact that the cops are looking for Yu and one old beat cop is looking
for one big bust before he retires. As the facts leading up to this all begin
to emerge it does take on a certain small time intrigue.
Jade is still looking good – and has a couple of action scenes that consist
primarily of a number of leg kicks to the heads of her opponents. Jade always
tended to look better with a gun in hand and shooting someone than she did
in her martial arts scenes. Regretfully, she has no opportunity to shoot anyone
in this film! Yu Rong Guang on the other hand always has looked better doing
physical martial arts than he does with a gun in hand – and yet here he does
more shooting than kicking – though he gives Wayne quite a beating. In general,
this is nothing to go out of the way to see unless you are a Jade fan and
want to keep up with her career. Some loyalties die hard.
