From the end of 2023 to the present, a series of commercial films have been released in mainland cinemas, which are either starring and starring Hong Kong filmmakers, or invested and co-produced by Hong Kong films. It can be said that Hong Kong-made films have reached a small climax in the near future.
In this film, there are not only "blockbusters" starring stars such as Andy Lau and Tony Leung, but also newcomer director Ma Yuke and his "Angry Tide" who tried to transform into a director for the first time. Especially the two films "Sneaking" and "Goldfinger", they chose to be released on the same schedule, although it seemed a little nervous for a while, but the audience still felt a little disappointed after the real **.
Since the beginning of the new century, the continuous decline of the Hong Kong film market has ceased to be in the headlines, especially in recent years, and the film industry in the three regions across the Taiwan Strait has shown obvious disadvantages.
In the current industrial context, among the many films that have been successfully produced and released on the mainland, commercial films are either sequels with no new ideas, or dead with no new ideas. The last Hong Kong-made commercial film released on the mainland and received critical acclaim dates back to Chen Musheng's posthumous work "Rage: A Serious Case" two years ago in the summer. Although only a few realist low-budget works did not perform well, they did not attract much attention and discussion due to the small size of the market and the sparse audience.
With the arrival of the New Year, the Hong Kong-made movie "Temporary Robbery" has officially entered the audience's sight. It is worth mentioning that the director and producer of the film, Mak Qiguang and Er Dongsheng, have a very close connection with Johnny To's Galaxy Image. Mak Qiguang is the second-generation director of Galaxy Imaging, while Er Dongsheng has cooperated with Galaxy Imaging many times and participated in the creative process of many works.
As a symbol of the end of the new century for Hong Kong films, Johnny To and his Galaxy Images have gone beyond the role of a mere creative team and filmmaker, and are more like a symbol representing the deep memory and expectation of Hong Kong film lovers for Hong Kong-style aesthetics and the value of Hong Kong-style images.
It is no exaggeration to say that "Temporary Robbery", a work full of strong galactic image elements, has made a lot of effort while maintaining its traditional characteristics.
If "Stealth" and "Goldfinger" respectively describe modern Hong Kong in the context of new technologies and new forms of business, and Hong Kong in the course of personal legend, then in "Temporary Robbery", we can see more of the civilian Hong Kong full of fireworks and closer to the street culture of Hong Kong Island.
Rather than the Bentley facilities and posh office space of Lam Tien On, the place has been replaced by a garage, a café, a fish stall, an affordable retirement home, and a public swimming pool on Kwong Lee Road.
In this bustling metropolis, the north and south are scattered, and all kinds of people are mixed in, almost all-inclusive. Under the dazzling lights of the skyscrapers, the real urban core is cleverly hidden under the archway by the large stall tables and various colorful signboards.
Filming of on-site work**.
When the images of Ren Xianqi and Lin Jiadong were shown on the big screen again, people couldn't help but recall the role of the king of thieves they played in "Tree Tricks" in 2016.
Although the king of thieves was finally **, at least he had a "brilliant" time, which was a kind of regret and regret for Johnny To's past glory, which was different from the extreme loneliness he felt as soon as he appeared in the movie today.
Different from the setting of the three protagonists in "The Big Tree", the three protagonists in "Temporary Robbery" are all outright people at the bottom of society. Ah Hui and Ah Yi are cowardly and timid taxi drivers and self-employed people who run cheap nursing homes, respectively. Although their lives are not in poverty, they can also be said to be quite poor.
Mei Lantian, a man who once stood on the podium of Sanda, did not seem to be able to avoid the teasing of fate and power, so he had to choose to take a risk.
The brutality of real life forces people to make certain choices and actions, but at the same time, none of the characters' choices are clear and concise - galactic cinematic crime movies have always made the dual personalities of the characters their central concern.
When Ah Hui and Ah Yi defended themselves with words like "We are really not thieves", Mei Lantian responded firmly: "I wasn't either. ”
When the film portrays the characters of the police partners Sister Jiang and the fish guy who track down the truth of the robbery, it especially emphasizes the truth and complexity of the characters' hearts in the limited clips. The reason why Sister Jiang insists on pursuing big cases is not only because of her professional requirements, but also because of the "stand out" in the team, so as to change the environment she is in. This is inherited in stages from the image of the "double-faced police" in a large number of previous Du's police and gangster films.
Therefore, the uniqueness of "Temporary Robbery" is not only the reproduction of the whole process of the crime through exaggerated audiovisual language and traditional habits, but more importantly, the breadth and coherence of its themes. Overlaid by the genre format, the work is dominated by some emotions of dissatisfaction with real life:
From Ah Yi's wife trying to reflect the problems of the social welfare system by pretending to be domestic violence in a tea restaurant, to the Fuqun Nursing Home relying entirely on Ah Hui's love power generation to reflect the pension problems, Mei Lantian is gradually cornered and has to choose robbery, and then to Anan taking risks to get two passports, just to be with his beloved.
From a certain point of view, this is the story of a group of ordinary people who are preded by everyday life. In this group of people, the evil of human nature coexists with the light, and the "temporary" in the title has revealed the pain and irresistible emotions behind their choice of action.
Although they behave selfishly and cowering, they are equally full of affection for Ah Hui and loyalty to Mei Lantian.
In Mei Lantian's personality, the protruding fangs are a notable characteristic. Despite his robbery, he still adheres to traditional charlatanism. He expressed dissatisfaction with today's underworld concept of "I will rob, you rob me", and stressed to Huang Maoju many times that "we are not thieves, but bandits", "do not kill people casually", and "if a brother is hit, make up for a shot, don't be bitter brother". For the sake of Pulsatilla, he deliberately set aside a "settling-in allowance". When tracking the carjacking on the way, he also reminded the female driver to "remember to hit the meter", and his style of action is mainly to emphasize righteousness.
In addition, it is precisely because of the excellent and multi-dimensional character building that the numerous coincidental designs in the crime case seem more convincing and reasonable.
The movie "Temporary Robbery" uses an intricate scene to show the scenes of two robberies not far apart, and uses this as a guide to the theme. Galaxy Imaging is good at handling complex gunfights and interspersed scene scheduling, especially in "The Big Event" of that year, and the 8-minute long footage is still talked about today.
From a spatial point of view, Mak Kai-kwong's latest work has chosen Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, which best reflects the daily life of Hong Kong citizens, as the place where the "robbery" took place. The main lines of the two robberies cross in front of the car dealership, and the taxi driven by Ah Yi becomes the main means of transportation, so the two protagonists are drawn into this sudden incident.
In the middle of the film, the transaction of Kwong Lee Road Swimming Pool once again adopts this technique, skillfully blending the clues of multiple characters together, further strengthening the connection between them, and also bringing a lot of humor.
Since the beginning of the new century, Galaxy Imaging has continued to blend two different creative styles: crime and urban romantic comedy.
Although entering the second decade, the influence of Du's comedy in the market has gradually waned, which has prompted the creators of Galaxy Imaging to focus more on making crime-themed films, but historical comedy works have not been completely eliminated, and excellent works like "Blind Detective" have been released from time to time.
It is evident from Mak Kai-kwong's work "Temporary Robbery" that he has put a lot of effort into integrating the above two styles, in which the elements of madness and humor complement each other.
In terms of character building, it is represented by Mei Lantian played by Aaron Kwok, Murong Hui played by Ren Xianqi, Fat Fork played by Lin Xue and shrimp boss played by Jiang David. In terms of the design of the plot and lines, such as "I'm going to rob you and rob me", "The window gun must be bought, otherwise it will leak", and "If you don't appear again, there will be no scene" and other elements, through the combination of hot and cold humor, a good effect has indeed been achieved.
When commenting on the classic "Dark Flower" in the galaxy imaging system, film critic Pan Guoling once clearly pointed out: "Because under the control of some mysterious force or so-called fate, the unique characteristics of the individual are deprived." [1]”
The movie "Temporary Robbery" is undoubtedly a work full of galactic blood, and it is also perpetuated in the changing colors of fate.
Judging from the structure of the plot, it was originally the policewoman Sister Jiang who conceived a team composed of two parties to carry out the mission, but then it unexpectedly succeeded like her **, and the three of them really joined forces in the end; In terms of narrative mode, such as the heroine in **, when faced with "murder", her reaction is silence, not anger. In terms of theme ** and character building, through Ah Hui, he asked Mei Lantian a question: "You are going to rob when you carry it, how do you memorize it?" How did you make me like this? "One moment it's heaven, another time it's hell, when the deafening roar sounded again, did Mei Lantian really think about the thunder that once killed the little watermelon, what did it represent—did it act without reservation, or did it choose to turn back to the shore?
The answer may no longer be so critical, and when the sad song echoes over the minor characters, the sound it makes doesn't seem so loud.
Isn't this temporary robbery like a person who has been thrown into it without warning? Is this the miracle of a temporary birth? He came into this world briefly, but soon disappeared without a trace.
As "Mr. Liu", an enthusiastic citizen, said: "The image of the Milky Way is really unbelievable. "As one of the important parts of Hong Kong films, Galaxy Imaging has always attracted countless fans with its unique artistic charm. Nowadays, in a series of rough and inferior so-called Hong Kong film "baptism", Johnny To and his galaxy images will only make people more nostalgic, and the reason for our nostalgia may be related to this "unimaginable" full of temperature and ultimate torture.
1] Pan Guoling is the editor-in-chief. In 2014, the Shanghai People's Publishing House published a book called "Galaxy Reflections", which was incredibly incredible.