Customary of the industry in the 1980s and 1990s has
been to set a budget and then to allow filmmakers creative control over
their projects. Because of the comparably lower film costs and the
presales of Hong Kong movies, investors have often put up money without
even seeing a script, satisfied with a one page synopsis. Terence Chang
succinctly describes the attitude as 'anything goes.' Besides having the
freedom to experiment, filmmaker-storytellers share an openness to the
uncontrollable and unknown which occur on any film set and they 'go with
the flow.' Through visually narrating, filmmakers connect with their
enterprise, directing their visions according to what is revealed as
filmmaking progresses, including chance and the collaboration which
filmmaking has become, with actors, cinematographers, designers,
screenwriters, etc., all contributing. A continual exchange of energies
occurs as filmmakers draw from these energies, thereby exciting their
own to articulate the narrative. Narrative is thus dynamic, a force
producing motion, and 'moving pictures' is its most suitable medium. The
production process involves phenomenal energy exchanges, and Hong Kong
moviemakers have unleashed cinematic powers long dormant, reinventing
narrative Hong Kong style.
Filmmakers have turned to recent historical events to
examine the China factor and Vietnam has served as a source. John Woo
admits his brutal Bullet in the Head (literally Bloodshed Street Corner,
1990), in which three Hong Kong buddies undergo torture and unspeakable
horrors during the Vietnam War, was influenced by the massacre in
Tiananmen Square, and stated, 'I also wanted to use Vietnam as a mirror
for what's going to happen in Hong Kong in 1997;' Woo also explains that
'Bullet in the Head is...the closest to an autobiography for me.' Woo
devised a fine allegory. Opening to an upbeat instrumental version of
The Monkees' 'I'm a Believer,' the song links to one of the friends, Ben
(Tony Leung Chiu-wai), whose ideals are destroyed by the brutalization
he, Frank (Jacky Cheung), and Paul (Waise Lee) undergo in 1967 Hong Kong
and Vietnam. Befriended by Chinese-French former CIA operative Luke
(Simon Yam) and torch singer Sally (Fennie Yuen), the friends'
cohesiveness is decimated by historical events and betrayal by one of
their own-- Paul, whose determination to not end up like his father,
added to the brutality and corruption he witnesses in Vietnam, blinds
him to bonds of trust and loyalty. A former soldier now a streetsweeper,
Paul's father tells him, 'It's destiny. I'm a nobody. It's okay. But my
son won't be sweeping streets. It's a cruel world, money talks. Without
it, you're shit. Remember, if you get a break, hang on in there.' Marx
insists, 'Money is not just an object of the passion for enrichment, it
is "the" object. When Paul intercepts a cache of gold leaves
in a crate marked 'US Army,' his face literally reflects the gold sheen.
Telling his friends, 'What you want? Today I saw some soldiers kill
people. I learned something. In this world if you have guns, you have
everything. Tell me how much is a human life!' Paul has learned well. He
will shoot Frank in the head, choosing gold bullion over his buddy's
life. Frank's existence will become a nightmare, as the pain from his
wound leads to heroin addiction, making him a hired killer to support
his habit. Perhaps Ben suffers most because he experiences and witnesses
others' pain and anguish, no longer the true believer. The cynicism of
the film is overpowering.
