It
is 1997, the year Mainland China and the United Kingdom agreed to the Sino-British
Joint Declaration, establishing a separate system of governance for Hong Kong
for the next fifty years. Today, both nations are trying to forget 1997 ever
happened. As the handover loomed, three notorious real-life gangsters assumed
the new regime would crack down on their business. Little did they know the CCP
would appoint an HK Chief of Police who was a reputed Triad associate—allegedly—[cough].
Given the mounting uncertainty, they hope to complete one big score—perhaps even
together in Frank Hui, Jevons Au & Vicky Wong’s Trivisa, co-produced
by the legendary Johnnie To, which premieres today on Shudder.
In
1997, the so-called “The Kings of Thieves” are all at a career crossroads. Kwai
Ching-hung has survived as an armed bandit, despite the bloody opening shootout,
because he generally focuses on smaller, manageable targets. However, that
means he does not have much of a nest egg to fall back on.
In
contrast, Yip Kwok-foon has pulled off some spectacularly lucrative jobs, but
the resulting heat forced him to retire to the Mainland, where he runs a
consumer electronics smuggling operation. It is a profitable business, but he
must constantly bribe the Mainland cops, who go out of their way to belittle
him.
Cheuk
Tze-keung is still pulling off jobs in Hong Kong, but his boredom and arrogance
are causing him to be increasingly reckless. Of the “Three Kings,” he is the
most interested in the rumor they will be joining forces for an end-of-an-era
gig, which did not originate with any of the trio in question. In fact, he
starts offering a reward for information on the whereabouts of his other two
colleagues, but he is scrupulously careful vetting tips, to keep the cops in
the dark.
The
Sanskrit title Trivisa is a bit too obscure, but do not let that dissuade
you from this jolly dark and ironic gangster thriller. It is a reference to the
“three poisons:” greed, anger, and delusion. Consider it the “Three Deadly Sins”
instead. Indeed, this film really is about threes, because the trio of co-directors,
Hui, Au, and Wong each focused on their own focal character: Kwai, Yip, and
Chuek, respectively. Yet, even with the three directors working with their own
cinematographers, the film feels very much like a consistent whole.
As
Kwai, Gordon Lam Ka-tung simmers and slow-burns until he practically spontaneously
combusts. However, Richie Jen is somehow even more explosively unstable as Yip.
Jordan Chan is the more comic of the three, chewing the scenery with evil glee
as the outrageous Cheuk. Of course, there are plenty of colorful HK character actors
(but not so many actresses), including To’s usual suspect Lam Suet, playing Boss
Fong, Yip’s fixer with the Chinese cops. Perhaps the best work comes from
Philip Keung playing Kwai’s now-reformed sworn-brother Fai.
