Ultimate Intelligence (2001)

Ultimate Intelligence's tale begins from a traffic accident - young Ah Man's involved and he's rushed to hospital. As his mother Mrs Wong later waits outside Intensive Care and the situation seems grim, a friend of Ah Man's puppy lover Alice suggests group prayer. Mrs Wong's agrees, but doesn't take the suggestion quite as intended. "Worship! Bodhisattva will save my son", she exclaims at the prompt. "I must go worshipping those gods".

Mrs Wong, a Buddhist, immediately runs home for worship. That night her hair suddenly turns grey as if her life is being shortened to save her son. Sensing a miracle, Mrs Wong heads back to the hospital, and confronts those assembled and their pastor, Reverend Leung. But the doctors' news is not good: Ah Man may live but the hospital can't offer medication because he's "not a citizen". Ms Wong pleads and the boy stays in their care, the pastor rings around his network for prayer support and a wearied Mrs Wong eventually collapses in front of an open bible. She appeals to God.

Ah Man later wakes from his coma - his body is paralysed but his mind is intact. Rev'd Leung proclaims the awakening a miracle but somewhere in the bowels of corporate Hong Kong is a naysayer who's not so impressed.

The head of the biggest software supplier in the World, Dr Peter Wong, senses promotion value in Ah Man. Peter wants to develop software to let the paralysed communicate and he sees not a miracle but a chance for his product to outperform religious belief. He even goes so far as to call his proposed software "Ultimate Intelligence beyond God". Folks in the boardroom aren't enthused and shoot down the idea. But Peter thinks he's onto a winner, takes leave, and develops the program himself... Is he right to doubt faith?

Produced by Media Evangelism Ltd, Ultimate Intelligence offers straightforward DV production (projected widescreen and windowboxed in the cinema) with occasional visual flair. Brief stylistic devices are afforded by the subject matter - presence of a Buddhist shrine means one scene is bathed in red light and the cross figures in some key compositions. Digital effects feature as visual accents and the lighting is generally low-key.

While the presentation of religious messages throughout the script struck me as overwhelming, I found the thread about the computer programmer and his wife proved an interesting distraction, and Ah Man's story appeared based on a real-life character shown in footage screened at the end of the film. The cast acquits itself confidently, with Tong Ning appearing natural in front of the camera as Alice, Wong Wan-choi playing the moneygrubbing software developer to the hilt, and Woo Mei-yee lending some warmth to her mother role.

Image: The New Imperial Theatre's small painted billboard with poster insert.

Credits:

Directed by Lau Ding-kin
Starring Cheung Shung-kei, Woo Mei-yee, Tong Ning and Wong Wan-choi