Desirous Express (2000)Ah Keung (Lai) is one bad piece of work. When he isn't hitting the Shenzhen sleazepits with his mates, he lurks about his New Territories village treating his mother and mainlander wife like dirt. Mum's not allowed to stay inside her home with the air-con running and wife Ah Yin is locked indoors, handcuffed in the bedroom and beaten at the slightest whim. Ah Yin is clearly unhappy, as evidenced by her savage attack on a plush Hello Kitty at the start of the film. All Hongkongers know it takes a lot of provocation to push someone to the verge of savaging the mouthless Ms Kitty. Keung's wife isn't the only one unhappy with him. Stepsister Ah Hong (Yiu) has had enough of the man, from childhood traumas through to watching her mum's poor treatment. When Yin and Hong meet at a village do one night, they hit it off with their hatred of Keung. Soon, Keung's off on "business" to China again and Yin is placed in Hong's care overnight. Eager to show Yin a favourite party spot, Hong and boyfriend Yan take her pill popping at a karaoke joint. Charged with chemicals, Yin and Yan grab the microphone. The ensuing karaoke inferno is completely overlaid by a Casiotone keyboard wistfully set to "Samba". The music works wonders on the romance front. That night Yin and Yan get naughty under the bedsheets and an affair is started. Both know that Keung is trouble for their relationship and they plan to knock him off - to make an accident happen, so to speak. And soon enough, but for other reasons, Hong is wanting Keung dead too. By the end of this drama, and its closing dialogue, there's the slightest of hints that the director was striving to say slightly more than his film alludes to. Very slight. Outside that Desirous Express offered too little energy or intrigue to keep me thoroughly entertained. Note: It is rather difficult to pin screen names on the characters in this movie as the subtitles are somewhat unreliable. |
Credits: Directed by Li Yuk-chung |
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