A War Named Desire (2000)

This movie,"Oi yue shing",is an unknown one,even for many fans of HK movies.But I think it's a great film,if not a masterpiece.2,000 year is a low tide of HK movie.This movie,whose cast contains Francis Ng,Dave Wong,Daniel Chan,GiGi Leung(these are all famous stars but not super stars),tells an unusual story.It refers different kinds of emotions--Francis and GiGi, a love of no-obvious Francis and Daniel,brother's friendship with conflict Francis and Dave,a pure and loyal fellowship.The beginning of the movie has fully shown that it won't be a common commercial film.It's a pity that the movie got a box office a little more than 2 million HKs,which caused the loss.This is an important reason why it is unknowns for majority.Another reason is the director was not famous before his work"infernal affairs"came out.Bless you,Hongkong movie!

"A War Named Desire" is a good, solid entry into Hong Kong's Triad Thriller canon. The film possesses many aspects that sets it apart from the other films of the genre, making it feel fresh and unique.The most striking aspect of the film is the film's focus. Unlike the typical Triad thrillers of this time, "A War Named Desire" focuses mainly on the narrative and the characters so the film viewer will ultimately receive a more enriching and rewarding experience.The narrative itself is unique in that it shows material we often do not see in the Triad genre. The film takes place entirely in Thailand and the director Siu Fai Mak paints this country as an exotic and distant land, totally unique and isolated from the rest of the world. This approach was done for several reasons: One, to enhance the feeling of separation from home we see in the younger brother, and two, to show this different country to the people of Hong Kong who may never see it otherwise.The narrative is more concerned with the ever evolving relationship between the two brothers than with action or the criminal actions of the triad, which is what makes this move special. We become emotionally evolved with all these characters, especially the two brothers but also with the woman and her love for the older brother.And the performances simply enhance this effect. Francis Ng is one of Hong Kong's most talented actors, he can articulate the emotions he is feeling on screen flawlessly. The performances are real and raw, nothing over the top or exaggerated as most Triad thrillers seems to have. As a result, we totally accept everything the film tries to sell us. When they reach the fatalistic climax, we are truly in suspense and worry for them because of their development and growth.Yet the film doesn't totally disregard action, though there isn't much of it to speak of. The film climaxes with one of the most beautiful and poetic action sequences put on celluloid. The film has the participants moving around one another in balletic fashion, shooting their guns in desperation and smooth control. If you had to watch the film for one single reason, it would be for this truly stunning set piece.However, even with all this praise there are still negatives in the film. The narrative, while emotionally riveting, suffers from pacing issues. The film lingers too long on some unnecessary scenes that don't help in accomplishing very much for the film's overall impact. This will most likely distant genre enthusiasts who are watching this film for only the action sequences, or don't care for story and merely want to be impressed by visual spectacles.Yet those who truly appreciate film as an art form, those who appreciate to be enlightened and moved by a truly engrossing story, by those who want to see a film that is atypical of other films of its ilk, then this is a strongly recommended film.

This is one of those movies not for the faint-hearted, as a couple of the characters in the movie learn themselves. Triad/gangster movies have been around forever, but this is one of the best I've seen in a long while. And an outing to Thailand makes it even more worthwhile.I can't say that I'm a fan of the genre and rarely watch such films, but the composition of this movie captured my attention and wouldn't let go. The on-screen presence of the characters is very powerful. Francis Ng and Daniel Chan work well together, although Chan sometimes seems uncomfortably quiet in his role. There are some extremely well-written and well-choreographed scenes. The scene where Francis Ng and Gigi Leung dance in the night club whilst in control of a shoot out was brilliantly done, and the finale was simply brilliant. A great plot, nicely placed twists and some adrenaline-loaded action, it's an enjoyment to watch.Excitement, drama, cinematography, it had it all. A War Named Desire. A film worth watching.One to watch for brilliance.

A War Named Desire is a well done Hong Kong triad gangster movie (set in Thailand). It is rather violent, but it is not a non-stop action movie, it is a violent gangster drama. This is a movie similar to the gangster movies by Johnnie To (Milkyway productions) and if you like The Longest Nite and A Hero Never Dies, I am convinced that you will also like A War Named Desire. There is no silly HK humor in A War Named Desire, it is serious all the way.The story is never boring or too slow but Alan Mak, the director still manages to develop the main characters so that they become real people with emotions, people to care about which makes the movie more engaging. It is interesting to see the two main characters, the brothers played by Daniel Chen and Francis Ng. How will the younger brother (Chen) react to his brothers gangster activities? Is the older brother just an emotionless gangster? Both Chen and Francis Ng does a fine job acting, they are unusually believable and Gigi Leung is also good as a dangerous femme fatale. It is also nice to see the locations in Thailand for a change and there are good scenes from the celebrations of the traditional Thai New Year (in April if I am not mistaken),especially the knife scene with Gigi Leung.The last 30 minutes of the movie consists of one of the best final gun battles ever filmed and we get to see many nice bloodsquibs when the bullets enter the bodies. Before that there is one of the best death scenes I have ever seen, a tragedy on the back of a Toyota pickup. Scenes like these makes this movie hard to forget.The photography is also very good, sometimes beautiful and it is obvious already from the very first scene that this is a well made quality movie with high production values.If you like A War Named Desired, I can also recommend The Odd Ones Die and the thai gangster movie 2499 antapan krong muang (2499 Dang Bireley's And Young Gangsters) who is about a real life thai gangster, active in the 50's (hence the title, the thai year 2499 is approximately 1950).