Do you remember that scene in Michael Mann’s adaptation of the Harris novel “Red Dragon” in 1986? “Manhunter”? Do ya remember how Will Graham tracks the killer? Well if you don’t then you’ll get a similar crash course into the mind of a criminal when you suit up with Hong Kong actioneers Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai.
In Mann’s version, Graham (played by CSI’s William Petersen) uses his imagination to conduct a recreation of a serial killer’s psyche, recreating the scene of the crime and walking through it, step-by-step. Likewise, To and Wai Ka-Fai have raised the ante in “Mad Detective”, maintaining an imaginative tale that resonates to the very last frame. It’s not too much like his previous bullet ballets, so if you’re looking for something like John Woo you’re best bet would be To’s 2007 “Exiled”.
The film follows Detective Bun (stress that consonant!) after he has officially retired from the Homicide Bureau. He’s known for placing both himself and his mind in the position of the criminals he tracks and he literally walks around, day to day, night to night, watching the physical manifestations of people’s inner demons whistle and wind their way through real life. The dynamite really starts cracking after word has split down the grapevine that a detective has gone missing and Bun - retired a la Van Gogh - is called back into action by a young protégé (Andy On).
Though it doesn’t really have much in terms of convolution or twists, the movie is more than appreciable for its inventive visual style, which relies not so much on flashiness or glitz (it’s good to see the cops and robbers using good ol’ fashioned service revolvers) but more so on ingenuity. My advice would be to catch this while its still in Cantonese, because it smells like an American remake is in the works. Let’s just hope Hollywood understands the creative sentiment which allows this here film to work. The final word: Inventive, fun and poetic. Nothing more though.
Best if you thought Kurosawa’s “Stray Dog” deserved a more interesting twist of gimmicks.
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