ONCE A THIEF
A film review by Christopher E. Meadows
Copyright 1996 Christopher E. Meadows
Written & Directed by John Woo Starring Chow Yun Fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung
My Rating: 8/10 (**** of *****)
I first discovered John Woo through this film--or, more correctly, through a couple of excerpts from this film, shown in a film criticism course I was taking at Southwest Missouri State University. The instructor, Dr. Dave Daly, is a big Hong Kong movie fan...and he made me into one as well, for which I am eternally grateful.
I don't think that many people who enjoy movies these days could possibly not have heard of John Woo; his two entries into the field of Hollywood cinema ("Hard Target," "Broken Arrow") have both done quite well in American theaters. However, they may not be aware of his earier works.
Starting with "A Better Tomorrow" in the mid-1980s, a seminal film which marked the beginning of the so-called "hero film" genre in Hong Kong, John Woo has made about a dozen action-packed adventure films, the most notable of which include "The Killer," "Bullet to the Head," and "Hard-Boiled."
These films contain action sequences the like of which most American movies no longer see; incredible feats of gunplay and acrobatics, accentuated by the inimitable Woo directorial style which makes use of slow-motion, camera angles and movement, perfect pacing, and incredible choreography that turns gunplay into a kind of bloody ballet.
Woo protagonists often clutch a gun in each hand and fire constantly, often apparently immune to the necessity of reloading. They have incredible coordination, deftly tossing and catching guns or other implements, often while performing a backflip or some other acrobatic feat at the same time. They make use of what they find in their environment in ways that would make MacGyver jealous. Getting shot once or twice barely slows them down.
Admittedly, these are largely characteristics of all Hong Kong action cinema, or even the action genre in general to some extent. Still, they're never used quite so agilely as in a John Woo film.
Sadly, Woo's style has been muted somewhat by the Hollywood environment in which he's made his latest films. Still, John Woo's first two Hollywood films have been remarkably well-received by the moviegoing public; perhaps as he becomes more comfortable with the Hollywood studio system, he will begin to exert more creative control. One can only hope.
"Once a Thief" stars two veteran actors from other John Woo films: Chow Yun Fat, who also starred in "A Better Tomorrow," "A Better Tomorrow 2," "The Killer," and "Hard-Boiled" plays Joe, and Leslie Cheung, who co-starred with Chow Yun Fat in "A Better Tomorrow," plays his foster brother, Jim. Together with foster sister Cherie (Cherie Chung), they make up a trio of expert art thieves, who specialize in stealing paintings from museums.
Over the course of the film, the threesome decides to retire from thievery and start a family of their own. However, before they can do this, they are manipulated by their cruel foster father, who raised them to become thieves, into stealing a painting for him. This they do, under duress...but they have no intention of actually giving it to him...
Fans of John Woo's ultraviolent bulletfests such as "The Killer" or "Hard-Boiled" may be disappointed by "Once a Thief". This film is a marked departure from the shoot-em-up style of other recent Woo films, a kind of return to the light-hearted comedies he directed prior to "A Better Tomorrow". There is action involved, and plenty of it, but the gunfights are neither as intense or elaborate as "Hard-Boiled" (though it _does_ have the best vehicular chase sequence since James Bond).
Of course, this does not detract from the movie at all; where Woo shoot-em-ups are ponderous dramas with weighty philosophical and moral considerations, "Once a Thief" is simply pure, unadulterated _fun_. It's a thrill a minute to watch the thieves get themselves into and out of one improbable situation after another, and the acrobatic feats and a remarkable dance scene make it plain that Woo's wonderful talent for choreography is not limited to gunplay.
What else does "Once a Thief" have to recommend it?
The acting. Chow Yun Fat is an experienced actor, with two decades and dozens of movies, television series, and other productions under his belt. As in all his films, he is smooth, believable, and his style, his charisma, his lopsided grin at times put me in mind of Sean Connery. Unlike in "The Killer" or "Hard-Boiled," here he gets to display his talent for comedy...and he certainly has that. I wish I could see him in such roles more often. Cheung, Chung, and the other members of the cast aren't bad either, but Chow Yun Fat generally steals almost every scene he's in.
The scenery. "Once a Thief" is set partially in Paris and elsewhere in France, and is filmed on-location. Paris, Notre Dame, the villa from which they must steal the painting...it's beautiful, and it really adds to the ambience of the film. And unlike in many American films, there is no reluctance to have conversations be held entirely or mostly in other languages than Cantonese--excellently- spoken French and English are both heard at various points in the film. I suppose since they're subtitling it in Chinese anyway, it's no hassle for them to leave it be.
The comedy. This film has some wonderful comic moments, starting with the very first few scenes. I won't give any of them away, as they're funnier when you go into them unprepared, but I will say that there are a couple of hilarious moments involving classical music that shouldn't be missed.
The music, the visuals, the dialogue...all the elements in this film click and click often, and the plot moves along like a finely-tuned clock. All in all, the only problems "Once a Thief" has are a couple of scenes where the editing is slightly jarring--the parachute landing where Chow Yun Fat abruptly changes direction between cuts, and the dance sequence where Cherie's hands change positions from cut to cut several times. Of course, these are only minor problems, and anyone who was able to forgive the "mysterious vanishing robot arm" and other inconsistancies in "Jurassic Park" should have no trouble here.
Another slight problem, though not with the film itself, is its availability. Sadly, "Once a Thief" has not, to my knowledge, been released to the American video market save on laserdisc. Unfortunately, not everyone has an LD player, or is willing to buy the expensive foreign-import disc, or lives in an area where Asian theaters regularly show these films, so the only way many people can see "Once a Thief" is through pirating a copy of the LD from someone. Also, the subtitling is standard Hong Kong, in Chinese characters with English below them. Sometimes it's a little hard to read, and the translation isn't always the best. (At a couple of points in the film, someone is saying something in English, while the English subtitles at the bottom of the screen say something different!)
In conclusion, if you have a chance to watch this movie, see it, by all means. Once again, John Woo proves that he could teach American cinema a great deal.
This review is copyright 1996 by Christopher E. Meadows. Permission granted for distribution through rec.arts.movies.reviews and all associated archival. Permission granted for free redistribution via cyberspace as long as this message remains attached. All other rights reserved to the author. -- Chris Meadows aka | Author, Team M.E.C.H.A., Crapshoot & Co. Robotech_Master | on the Superguy Listserv (bit.listserv.superguy) robotech@jurai.net | **TAKE NOTE!** My homepage has changed to robotech@eyrie.org | http://www.jurai.net/~robotech/index.html
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