Mou mei san taam (1995)

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Loving You is an early cop drama by Johnnie To with actors who would become regulars of his, Lau Ching-Wan and Carman Lee (who reunited in Lifeline). As the movie synopsis tells it, it's about a hard-edged cop who gets shot in the head, survives, and gets a change of heart as a result. They make it sound like he suffers a personality change as a result of brain damage, but that's not at all what happens. The police inspector in question is a proficient cop, but a jerk and lousy husband. After the incident and through his recovery, he has a chance to re-assess, decide what's important, and tries to make changes, but it might be too late to save his broken marriage or his reputation. Even this early (1995), To's interest in karmic balance is on show, and good will might attract good will, but then there's the villain of the piece who just won't leave our hero alone and keeps making attempts on his life. So if you're worried by the second act that abandons the kinetic action of the first in favor of recovery and tragic romance, don't be. We're back in John Woo territory by the end. One thing I can't help you with however are the cheesy needle drops, but that seems to be a standard for artsy Chinese directors like To (I could also name Wong Kar-Wai). 5 years 8 months ago