Sparrow

Due to a lack of sleep and a compulsory need to watch The Office Speicals, I haven't have the required time to watch John Woo's epic Red Cliff. However, I have watched Johnnie To's Sparrow, and I absolutely loved it.

Sparrow
Directed by Johnnie To, starring Simon Yam, Kelly Lin and Gordon Lam. From the opening credits, one can tell that Johnnie To's latest foray into celluloid is something special. With a muted color pallet reminiscent of the works of Hitchcock, and the existing beauty of real life Hong Kong locations, To frames his pickpocket romance film that charms as though it were a classic.

Kei (Yam), leader of a gang of pickpockets, and his crew prey upon locals and tourists with glee, making themselves a comfortable living without the stress and monotony of working a standard 9 to 5. One by one, Kei and his three fellows encounter a beatiful woman (Lin) in need of assistance. As each grows more enamored by her exquisite mystique, they become entangled in a dangerous web of love and longing. With their pickpocketing skills and debonair attitudes, Kei's gang sets about aiding their mysterious new friend in finding a resolution to her problems, while testing the limits of their abilities.

To and Milkyway Image spent three years in production on Sparrow. During that time, they managed to put together the finest film I've seen so far this year. Unsurprisingly, Johnnie To's direction is utterly fantastisc. With films like Loving You, Where A Good Man Goes, Too Many Ways to be No. 1, Expect the Unexpected, The Longest Nite, The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Election, Mad Detective, Triangle, and dozens more to his credit, getting a good film out of Johnnie To is expected. Even getting a great film, sometimes three or four in a year, is all but guaranteed.

Any film with a pedigree like that of Sparrow, a genius director in To, and supremely talented actors in Simon Yam, Kelly Lin and Gordon Lam, has plenty of hype and expectations to live up to. Thankfully, Sparrow easily meets those expectations. Most of what makes a good Hong Kong film a great Hong Kong film is that indescribable Hong Kong Cinema feeling, which Sparrow has in spades. It plays every bit like the characters portrayed by Yam and Lam, with slick and enticing style.

Simon Yam and Gordon Lam are like modern day versions of Humphrey Bogart as the exude cool and calm even when in over their heads, while Kelly Lin expertly captures the role of a femme fetale, whether it be with a blank stare barely masking contempt and sorrow, or with an irresistably sexy allure as she smokes a cigarette. Because of the chemistry, talent and credibility of these actors, the stock characters feel anything but overused and stale.

Though the acting is impeccable, the real star is To's direction. Utilizing skewed angles and dizzyingly terrific tracking shots, To captures the feel of each scene, from tense, yet subdued action, to giddy, infatuated delight. The grace and class of Sparrow would make it a career defining film for a lesser director, but it is just another notch in the exceptional auteur's body of work. Fans of To and Milkyway will almost surely love Sparrow, as well as the fans of film noir and the days of Hollywood yore. Simply put, Sparrow is an inviting film that entertains from start to finish. Other filmmakers should aspire to create films such as this.