A Man from Holland
Director: Patrick Kong Yeung
Year: 1985
Rating: 5.0
I have to mention that I
saw this on a vcd from Ocean Shores. That is generally a bad sign. They were
a dreadful distributor of Hong Kong LDs, DVDs and vcds around the world.
They took zero pride in their work and their releases were full screen, cropped
and crap. At least back when I picked up this vcd but at the time, there
were often not a lot of options to buy Hong Kong films. This one was total
crap with any scene at night - of which there were quite a few - nearly impenetrable
to the human eye. Perhaps cats would have better luck. Not sure if it has
been released in a better format since but I see no reason for it to have.
I always see comments where people think every film deserves a blu-ray release.
Not this film.
I think the director Patrick Kong Yeung
has a case of Attention Deficit Syndrome. The plot jumps around from character
to character like a squirrel on a hot stove. Some characters go missing for
long periods only to show up when needed. Except for the sex scenes and the
action I should add. There are three sleazy sex scenes - one in which a naked
girl is tied up on the beach and has small turtles placed on her. Hey, people
get their kicks in different ways. There are also a number of action scenes
and a couple are well-done. The rest of it is rubbish.
A professional killer is brought from Holland
- I guess all the killers in Hong Kong were on vacation. His mission is to
kill three men. Two foreigners and a Japanese Red Army person. He is played
by Phillip Ko and this very much feels like a low budget Ko film. As soon
as he gets to his hotel, he asks the bellboy to bring him a woman. Then he
is ready to kill and the fight with the Japanese guy isn't bad at all. He
has a brother in Hong Kong. A cop played by Ray Lui who is as tough as nails.
The film jumps back and forth between these two and two drug gang leaders
- Kwan Hoi-san and Michael Chan Wai-man. And their underlings. And other
people. There are more characters than War and Peace (which some day I will
finish). When the two gang leaders decide that Ray Lui is causing them too
much trouble and has to be rubbed out, it is up to Phillip Ko to save him.
The final duel is nifty. Between Ko and Michael Chan. In a haunted house.
Face to face. They each put one bullet into their gun and wait for the coin
to stop spinning in order to draw. It is a great party game. Solid
cast but way too unfocused.
