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No news is good news. Is Breaking News also good?
Publisher: Eastern Eye through Madman Entertainment
Tue, 6 December 2005
by: Australian Ninja
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I broke the news one time, but it got better.
Chinese films. I love them. Why? Well, most Chinese films are so refreshingly different to the Hollywood variety that I can't help but enjoy them more than most American films.
The production values in recent years have certainly seen an improvement in Chinese films and I think that as a result Chinese films are being taken more seriously as quality entertainment and less as kooky and bizarre entities.
The mainstream acceptance of Jacky Chan and Jet Li has done a lot to open the door for other Chinese film stars and allow them to receive more of an international audience than ever before. I mean Chinese films of all kinds, not just the Hong Kong Phooey Martial Arts variety. "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" earned its dues showing us that martial art films can be both respectable and aesthetically beautiful with plenty of action too. That film was a true work of art, not a story-less non-ending bloody battle like the kung-fu films of old. But hey, I like both Crouching Tiger and the old Kung-Fu films, including the new ones the old ones and anything in between.
While China and Japan are known for their martial art films certainly a lot of different genre films are produced every year. Many of them provide worthwhile viewing, but we generally are not aware of their existence.
Enter "Breaking News" from Madman/AV Channel's "Easter Eye" label. The newish Madman imprint Eastern Eye addresses those "other" films that would normally fall through the consumer cracks and not reach their full audience potential.
Breaking News is an action/crime drama story about the Hong Kong Police, a bunch of criminals and the HK Media who report and shape the events that transpire in the film.
The integration of the Media in the film is a very accurate reflection of how the real world media often influences events as they happen in real time.
The film opens with a gun battle and the battles climax sees an unarmed police officer shot on-camera [then broadcast by the news reporters] and subsequently the Honk Kong Police Department (HKPD) are made to look inferior in the eyes of the public. During a meeting at HQ the police decide to find the criminals who attacked their men and simultaneously to address the bad media image portrayed to the public.
The criminals are tracked down holed up in a Hotel and when confronted they take hostages. A floor by floor chase takes up most of the film, with frequent cuts to the Police employee who is engineering the news events and dictating what is to be released for broadcast.
However, the criminals fight back by taking photos of events with a digital phone camera then uploading them to the internet. One scene sees a bad guy throw a gas canister [the aussie BBQ variety] at some cops then he shoots it followed by a devastating explosion. An officer dies. The HKPD tell the media and public that they have the situation in hand. The criminals upload pictures of the explosion and officer dying via the hostage family's computer.
In this way the manipulation of the media swings back and forth between the criminals and the Police.
 | | Godzilla just farted, run for it! |
It makes for an intriguing film that keeps you guessing what will happen and who will prevail in the media battle.
As the battle escalates, more officers die and some criminals die. A SWAT team is sent is and just when they are about to bust down the door [some criminals have taken a family hostage, while others are wandering the building keeping police busy] a man is seen dangling out the window held only by a bed-sheet rope.
The tension builds as the man has a gun pointed at his head. A sniper is perched on an opposite building. No shot is taken, as doing so would surely send the hanging man plummeting to his gruesome death. Unknown to the police is that the hostage voluntarily went out the window in an effort to be seen on camera and prevent the SWAT team from entering the apartment. Earlier in the film the hostage family and criminals enjoyed a big lunch together.
The bad guys prepared the meal after the incompetent hostage father of two electrocuted himself in the kitchen while attempting to cook a meal.
The criminals took photos of themselves [mobile phone camera] and the family eating the meal and posted them to the news media via the internet. While it was a deliberate manipulation by the criminals the meal scene was genuine and the leader of the group had no intention of hurting the hostages. He just wanted to get out of the building.
The criminal gang was actually planning a robbery when the HKPD tracked them down at the hotel. So the ensuing chaos and hostage situation was unplanned. The gang just tried to escape the building but instead became trapped in a hostage scenario with police and reporters all over the show.
Breaking News is a very watchable, enjoyable film. It's not an action movie spectacular but it does feature many quality action scenes. The opening of the film showcases an intense full on gun battle between criminals and the local police. This is not a gun battle of the John Woo variety. Men on both sides are shot and some die. There are no heroes here, only survivors.
The film focuses on quite a few characters at any one time and at times it's confusing remembering who is who and what their motivations are. For me this is pretty normal for Chinese action movies and it doesn't bother me. It's actually kind of fun at times working out what the heck is going on. During a scene where some criminals cook up a nice dinner I wondered why is the criminal such a nice guy? He treats the hostage family nicely and the "bad guy" is the most likeable character in the film. It kind of says to me that even Chinese criminals have some class and character when they still use polite manners and know how to cook a restaurant quality meal for their fellow goons and the hostage family.
 | | He forgot to remove the coat hanger from his jacket. |
This is not the kind of film I'd get terribly excited about and run to see if it was at the cinema etc. It is the kind of film however that you would expect to see on the SBS channel. The overall quality of the acting, the story and camera shots/techniques is excellent. The end part of the film is by far the most dramatic. After many police officers are dead, one lone officer doggedly pursues the criminals. He is unrelenting in his efforts to prevent the bad guys from getting away no matter the danger to himself. We see him pursue his enemies from the building corridors, into an elevator shaft and finally the last criminal onto the street. Then he chases after him on a borrowed dirt bike while being shot at.
Going back to the elevator scene for a moment, this scene in particular I really enjoyed. The filming of this scene was very unique alternating between the view of the officer looking down and the bad guys [who were preparing bombs] looking up at him juxtaposed with a side on view. Normally you wouldn't see a side on view of an elevator shaft as walls surround it. So the originality of this scene is both creative and visually appealing.
The three lead characters: Commissioner Fong [she runs the operation], Inspector Cheung [Cheung leads the Police forces] and Eric Yeung [the criminal gang leader] all play strongly motivated characters.
Commissioner Fong wants to win back the publics favour. She will go to any means necessary within reason. Inspector Cheung is determined to perform his duty and even when ordered to leave - after the SWAT team enters the building - he stays inside to see the situation through to the bitter end. Eric Yeung wants more than anything to get away from the police and back to planning the delayed robbery. In addition he wants to live and not to harm other people un-necessarily.
The motive of the HKPD massaging the media's stories is never really questioned by the HKPD themselves. It is assumed that being in favour with the public is for the good of all concerned.
I found that element interesting as government organisations lying to the media is by no means uncommon.
While there are three main characters, the emphasis is never on any particular character. All are given relatively equal screen time and the real focus is on the relationship between the police, the criminals and the media.
The Breaking News DVD extras are pretty standard stuff:
Making of, movie stills, theatrical trailer, previews for other "Eastern Eye" films including a preview of "Godzilla VS Mothra." Be sure to watch that preview, as it is laugh out loud funny.
Breaking News is an interesting film to watch. I rather enjoyed watching it but I confess that if I didn't already enjoy Chinese films then I doubt I would have bothered with it. So while I am saying it is a good film, you better be comfortable with reading subtitles if you are going to watch it. Even if you never watch foreign films, I still say take a look - it is good to try new things.
by: Australian Ninja
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More articles by Australian Ninja
Consistently entertaining and unique. Recommended for fans of Chinese films and Police crime-drama stories. | |
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