The Bullet Vanishes: CSI in 1930’s Shanghai

In the 1930’s, forensic science had not really caught on yet with the Shanghai police force.  However, Song Donglu is no ordinary copper.  As an assistant prison warden, his interest in criminal psychology spurred him to challenge many convictions.  To be proactive, or to spare themselves further embarrassment, his superiors have transferred him into the field to help the Shanghai police get it right the first time.  He will be initiated with a particularly sinister case in Lo Chi-leung’s The Bullet Vanishes (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

There has been a shooting at the local bullet factory—several actually.  It might be a testament to their craftsmanship, except the bullets in question seem to disappear upon entry.  Many of the workers believe it is really the curse of a worker unjustly accused of stealing product.  The autonomous factory owner dealt with the case per their traditional method: a friendly game of Russian roulette.  When those who wronged the woman start turning up dead, the other workers get a bit spooked, setting production even further behind.

Song does not believe in ghosts.  He is a man of science.  Still, he has some rather mysterious circumstances on his hands, like corpses with gunshot wounds but no discernible bullets to analyze.  Before long, he will also have to wrap his head around a classic locked room murder.  At least his new partner Guo Zhui has his back.  They can’t say the same for their superior officers.

Though there are a lot of familiar Holmsian elements in Bullet, Lo and co-writer Yeung Sin-ling consistently give them with a fresh spin.  Perhaps most intriguing is Song’s ambiguous relationship with a convicted black widow murderess (played by a glammed down but terrific Jiang Yiyan), who could either be his Irene Adler or Hannibal Lecter.  Determining which could be fertile ground for a sequel.

In fact, Bullet is pretty unusual for a big screen murder mystery, because it values atmosphere and procedural process (as antiquated as it might be by our standards) over formulaic chases and phony suspense.  Viewers might have a general sense where it is headed, but at least the film makes an effort to hold onto its secrets.  There are still several well mounted period action sequences sprinkled throughout the film, but the overall vibe of Bullet is refreshingly cerebral.

With Song, Lau Ching-wan brings to life a great character.  Yes, he is a bit socially awkward at times, but the detective is his own man, far more compassionate than Holmes ever was, particularly in his scenes with the mariticidal inmate.  As the more action-oriented Gui, Nicholas Tse is in his element, also developing some nice romantic chemistry with Mi Yang’s Little Lark, the fortune teller.  Together as cops with contrasting styles, Lau and Tse have an appealing give-and-take rapport going on.  As for Boss Ding, the primary villain and focus of viewer scorn, Liu Kai-chi certainly is not shy chewing the scenery, vaguely suggesting elements of both the psycho and comedic Joe Pesci.  That is not a bad thing.

From Chan Chi-ying’s stylish noir cinematography to Stanly Cheung’s natty 1930’s-era costumes, Bullet is a great looking film. It is also smart and old-fashioned in a good way.  Recommended with enthusiasm for mainstream mystery fans, The Bullet Vanishes opens tomorrow (8/31) in New York at the AMC Empire and Village 7, as well as in San Francisco at the AMC Cupertino and Metreon, courtesy of China Lion Entertainment.

Private Eye: Wearing Hats and Solving Crimes in 1910 Korea

In 1910, the Korean Empire was a far cry from Burke and Hare’s 1820’s Edinburgh.  Nonetheless, when a medical student finds a corpse in the woods, he cannot resist the rare opportunity to dissect a human cadaver.  When his specimen turns out to be the well-heeled victim of a serial killer, Jang Kwang-soo turns to a professional to guide him out of the mess.  At least that is the idea in Park Dae-min’s Private Eye (trailer here), now available on DVD from Pathfinder Home Entertainment.

Justice is no longer Hong Jin-ho’s business.  The ex-cop turned gumshoe now specializes in divorce cases.  He wants nothing to do with Jang’s case, but the prospective reward for information on the magistrate’s missing (and in fact dead) son along with his former colleagues’ incompetent handling of the case hook him in, despite his better judgment. 

When the body of a sleazy commissioner also turns up in the same manner as Jang’s cadaver, detective and client quickly realize they are onto something much larger.  Not exactly CSI specialists, the Seoul police are more concerned about cleaning up the crime scenes, lest they offend the victims’ powerful relatives.  This gives Hong an advantage, thanks to his secret ally, Park Soon-deok, a noble born lady scientist, who frustrated by the era’s gender norms finds an outlet by serving as both Hong’s Quincy and Q.  Yes, they share some ambiguous history, but that is the least of Eye’s concerns.

Given the conspicuous corruption of the authorities, it is not hard to figure who, in general, the bad guys are.  Still, Park and two credited co-writers keep many of the details of the lurid plot relatively murky, while throwing viewers a few twists worthy of the Victorian mysteries obviously inspiring the film.  However, sensitive viewers should be aware the conspiracy involves some disturbing death-of-innocence crimes.  (Just once, it would be nice to see the villainous pervs targeting middle-aged genre filmmakers.)

Appropriately roguish, but far from invulnerable, Hwang Jung-min makes an engaging hardboiled hero bordering on anti-hero.  Though he is occasionally a just a tad shticky, for the most part Ryu Deok-hwan’s Jang is a restrained, wide-eyed sidekick.  Unfortunately, Um Ji-won is not allotted nearly enough screen time as Lady Park, because she brings an intelligent and charismatic presence to easily the film’s most intriguing character—partly an early feminist role model and partly a virtuous Irene Adler figure.

While the Sherlock Holmes comparisons have been a little overdone (Hong has a straw hat to Holmes’ deerstalker, get it?), Eye ends on a rather clever Scandal in Bohemia homage that could easily function as a jumping off point for the sequel.  Despite the often dark themes, the fast-paced Private Eye is a rather entertaining period noir.  Recommended for fans of Korean cinema and the hardboiled crime movies, it is now available on DVD from Pathfinder Home Entertainment.