58
237
8
Turn back the clock.
See Her Again or Sun and Stars/太阳星辰 is an riveting walk down memory lane. It is written in the vein of the old school Hong Kong cop genre that serves up a dash of time travel with a great deal of suspense and waves of nostalgia. The narrative unfolds across two timelines; first in 1993 pre-handover Hong Kong and then in 2018; over a decade after the end of British colonisation. The ethos of the story is a yearning for bygone times; contrasting the Hong Kong that was then with the Hong Kong that is now. What I like most about it is it doesn't suggest one is better or worse; in fact it depicts Hong Kong as different and yet somehow still the same. It is a drama that should only be watched in Cantonese because Cantonese colloquialisms are uniquely Cantonese in a way that simply won't translate into Mandarin even when the words are exactly the same.
This is by far William Chan's best role to date. He is truly in his own skin in his native Cantonese as a hard-boiled Hong Kong cop Yeung Kwong Yiu; a dedicated officer who has no problem bending the rules to catch criminals and gangsters. After a devastating fire, the traumatised city is further terrorised by a series of brutal murders. As the hunt for the serial killer intensifies, Kwong Yiu struggles to find time for his wife and young daughter who also need him. In the midst of a high speed chase hot on the heels of the killer through the maze of 1990s Hong Kong's crowded, neon-lit streets and claustrophobic buildings, Kwong Yiu falls down a time tunnel. He finds himself flung twenty-five years into the future, to an unrecognisable Hong Kong. He is shattered when he discovers that life went on without him and not in the best of ways. The killer is still at large and may have resurfaced after many years. He must convince his old friends on the force to include him in their investigation in an inter temporal quest for justice and a desperate gamble to turn back the clock.
Despite the gritty noir flavour, the slick camerawork, the vivid Hong Kong images, a flawed antihero cop, morally complex characters, blurred lines between good and evil and the evocative soundtrack, there is something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. The camaraderie and banter between the cops just doesn't hit the right notes. The sarcasm, dark humour and cynicism that is belied by actions that makes their bonds feel lived-in is missing. Maybe the huge time leap made some of these interactions feel a bit forced and awkward. What worked quite well however was the chemistry between William Chan and Cya Liu and the moving way in which their relationship evolved. The mature, patient yet puppy dog-like hopefulness in William Chan's eyes as his Kwong Yiu tried to break through Hoi Ching's cold and disapproving facade made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I really enjoyed how they made this dislocated and emotionally charged father-daughter connection progress over time. I rooted for Kwong Yiu over foster father Chan Tsz Tsun (Stephen Fung) all the way in terms of worming his way back into his daughter's heart.
The high-stakes suspense plot is tight and unfolds at a thrilling pace with a few good twists and an unexpected ending. The antagonist roles were superbly acted even though some of their motives were too extreme, overly melodramatic and too ruthless with high collateral damage for me to feel sorry for them. The fast paced ending left little room for regrets, recriminations and sentimental adieus, which is a relief. Overall a very enjoyable nostalgic watch even though the narrative doesn't quite capture the distinctive gritty, cynical and defiant quintessence of the Hong Kong cop culture. Coming from a Hong Kong director that started out at TVB, this is a little bit disappointing. The unfathomable decision to re-record Beyond's 1990s popular hit Lover 情人, replacing Wong Ka Kui's deep and textured vocals with that of an insipid female vocalist is a crime in and of itself and reflective of everything wrong with this drama: it tried but is nothing like the real thing. I enjoyed it but can only rate this knock-off wannabe Hong Kong police story a 7.5/10.0.
This is by far William Chan's best role to date. He is truly in his own skin in his native Cantonese as a hard-boiled Hong Kong cop Yeung Kwong Yiu; a dedicated officer who has no problem bending the rules to catch criminals and gangsters. After a devastating fire, the traumatised city is further terrorised by a series of brutal murders. As the hunt for the serial killer intensifies, Kwong Yiu struggles to find time for his wife and young daughter who also need him. In the midst of a high speed chase hot on the heels of the killer through the maze of 1990s Hong Kong's crowded, neon-lit streets and claustrophobic buildings, Kwong Yiu falls down a time tunnel. He finds himself flung twenty-five years into the future, to an unrecognisable Hong Kong. He is shattered when he discovers that life went on without him and not in the best of ways. The killer is still at large and may have resurfaced after many years. He must convince his old friends on the force to include him in their investigation in an inter temporal quest for justice and a desperate gamble to turn back the clock.
Despite the gritty noir flavour, the slick camerawork, the vivid Hong Kong images, a flawed antihero cop, morally complex characters, blurred lines between good and evil and the evocative soundtrack, there is something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. The camaraderie and banter between the cops just doesn't hit the right notes. The sarcasm, dark humour and cynicism that is belied by actions that makes their bonds feel lived-in is missing. Maybe the huge time leap made some of these interactions feel a bit forced and awkward. What worked quite well however was the chemistry between William Chan and Cya Liu and the moving way in which their relationship evolved. The mature, patient yet puppy dog-like hopefulness in William Chan's eyes as his Kwong Yiu tried to break through Hoi Ching's cold and disapproving facade made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I really enjoyed how they made this dislocated and emotionally charged father-daughter connection progress over time. I rooted for Kwong Yiu over foster father Chan Tsz Tsun (Stephen Fung) all the way in terms of worming his way back into his daughter's heart.
The high-stakes suspense plot is tight and unfolds at a thrilling pace with a few good twists and an unexpected ending. The antagonist roles were superbly acted even though some of their motives were too extreme, overly melodramatic and too ruthless with high collateral damage for me to feel sorry for them. The fast paced ending left little room for regrets, recriminations and sentimental adieus, which is a relief. Overall a very enjoyable nostalgic watch even though the narrative doesn't quite capture the distinctive gritty, cynical and defiant quintessence of the Hong Kong cop culture. Coming from a Hong Kong director that started out at TVB, this is a little bit disappointing. The unfathomable decision to re-record Beyond's 1990s popular hit Lover 情人, replacing Wong Ka Kui's deep and textured vocals with that of an insipid female vocalist is a crime in and of itself and reflective of everything wrong with this drama: it tried but is nothing like the real thing. I enjoyed it but can only rate this knock-off wannabe Hong Kong police story a 7.5/10.0.
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