China White
Director: Ronnie Yu
Year: 1989
Rating:
5.5
American version.
Ah, so this is the film. It is rather a
fun Hong Kong B action film of interest because it was shot in Amsterdam
and was directed by Ronnie Yu who later was to direct the classic The Bride
with White Hair. But there is a story behind the scenes of more interest
than the film itself. You might wonder while watching why there is a photo
of a woman on the wall who is obviously Carina Lau, a big star in Hong Kong
at the time - but she never appears again. Not in the American version. Neither
do Andy Lau, Shing Fui-on or Alex Man who get credits in the Hong Kong version.
There is a terrifying story there involving the triads and the producer of
this film, Jim Choi. This made big news in Hong Kong at the time, but I had
not connected it with this film. For a period of time the triads were heavily
involved in Hong Kong films when it was very profitable to do so.
The triads had their hands in at all levels.
Producing, distributing, pirating, ghost jobs on the sets, protection money
and using triad tools to get their way - intimidation, violence, threats.
The film business was a perfect vehicle to launder their money from their
other businesses. They controlled some of the talent agencies and were able
to cast certain actors in films. One of the major producers with ties to
the triads was Charles Heung who headed Wins Entertainment and China Star.
Jackie Chan to his credit was one of the major stars to protest against the
triads - not so much against the Communist Party sadly. With the decreasing
profitability of Hong Kong films after the Handover and the co-productions
with the Mainland, the triads have generally moved elsewhere. The one decent
thing that I thought the Chinese government would do is rid Hong Kong of
the triads but instead have used them.
This film in particular made the headlines
for what the triads did. Apparently, they kidnapped Carina Lau, Andy Lau
and Alex Man and flew them to the Netherlands and at gunpoint forced them
to act in the film. Rumors abounded that they raped Carina Lau. They apparently
all show up in a film flashback that does not make it into the American version.
For good reason. The producer of this film was Jim Choi - agent for Jet Li
and involved with the triads and was said to be behind the abductions. Three
years later he met his karma by being gunned down by another triad group.
All this for a film that that at best is
a solid B action film. I don't know if Ronnie Yu was forced to direct this.
He had a few solid films behind him - Postman Strikes Back and The Occupant
- both with Chow Yun Fat - but also directed Legacy of Rage with Brandon
Lee that perhaps led him to directing this film with Russell Wong, brother
of Michael Wong who had starred in Legacy of Rage. A few Hong Kong actors
do show up in this version - Ku Feng the great Shaw Brother's star, Tommy
Wong, William Ho, one of the great villains in Hong Kong films and Victor
Hon Kwan. Those guys were probably happy to be in a film like this - but
Carina Lau and Andy Lau were well beyond it in their careers. But a gun to
the head.
Amsterdam has broken open into a fight for
territory between factions of the Chinese gangs and the Mafia. When the Dai
Lo of Chinatown Ku Feng gets murdered on the streets, it turns into open
warfare. Russell Wong and his brother in the film, Steven Vincent Leigh,
coordinate the Chinese factions and go after the Mafia led by Billy Drago.
The main weakness of the film is the blooming romance between Russell and
Lisa Schrage - unknown to her he is a drug dealer and unknown to him, she
is an undercover cop. Maybe one of the worst cops ever. There are some very
decent shoot-outs and a couple terrifying stunts. The one in which Russell
in trying to escape jumps onto a ladder out of a high building that then
falls over across a canal is pretty amazing. A couple falls as well.
Some good location shooting - and
shooting - in Amsterdam. After Ku Feng gets shot, they take him out
to the countryside. Because they wanted to get a windmill into the film.
Another time Russell and Lisa say let's take a walk and they are suddenly
on a beach. Because they wanted to get a beach into the film. They even do
a visit to the famous Red Light area of the city. Running times are confusing
- this one is 106 minutes, Wikipedia has it at 99 minutes and supposedly
the Hong Kong version added ten minutes. I don't think I even want to see
the Carina Lau and Andy Lau footage knowing how it came about.
