Pedicab Driver (1989) June 18, 2008
Posted by Cal in : Comedy, Action, 1980s films , trackbackDirector: Sammo Hung Main Cast: Sammo Hung; Nina Li Chi; Mang Hoi; Max Mok; Fennie Yuen; John Shum; Suen Yuet Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Bojon Films
Pedicab Driver marks the end of Sammo Hung’s greatest period as both star and director with a mighty bang. Although it seems at times to be a little over-ambitious in its storytelling, with several seemingly unrelated threads working parallel with each other, it does actually work most of the time.
The movie’s opening is definitely one of the finest pieces of Hong Kong cinema, and I defy anyone to disagree. The setting is Macau in the 1930s; two rival gangs of pedicab (passenger-carrying tricycles similar to rickshaws) drivers meet in a teahouse for negotiations, divvying up passengers. The discussion is bitter and hostile, but the two parties eventually reach a cordial agreement. Just as they are able to shake hands on their new deal, the teashop owner, chasing a cat not visible to the gangs, leaps into view brandishing a deadly meat cleaver. Both gangs mistake this for an ambush and a fight ensues. The clash is reminiscent of the barroom brawl from Jackie Chan’s Project A, and features breathtaking action and fantastic inventiveness (there’s even a “lightsaber” duel with two fluorescent lighting strips!). This scene, as well as being incredibly exciting, also underlines Sammo’s generosity behind the camera – instead of hogging the limelight, he lets the others take the lion’s share of screen time for the duration.
After such an adrenaline rush, what follows immediately after could seem a huge let-down: baker Fong (Suen Yuet) tries to court his employee Ah Bing (Nina Li Chi) even though he’s old enough to be her father, while Tung (Sammo Hung) has much the same intention. Well, it’s Nina Li Chi - that’s pretty much every man’s intention.
Anyway, there’s also Master Ng (John Shum playing very much against type), a man so thoroughly evil he would make Hitler look reasonable. Seriously, he’s the most snarlingly evil pantomime villain in Hong Kong cinema, and there have been quite a few over the years. He is a pimp, and in one scene one of his workers is giving birth. He and his men kill the girl’s father (Dick Wei – so you know there are going to be a few fireworks before the end) in front of her as the baby’s being born, then tells them to throw the offspring in the river if it’s a boy and to take it back to the brothel if it’s a girl. He then tells the woman to get back to work.
Last but not least, we have fellow pedicab driver Malted Candy (Max Mok) and his romance with Hsiu Tsui (Fennie Yuen). It’s a somewhat melodramatic affair, this relationship, and is your typical Chinese tragic love story, complete with Cantopop song sung over a montage of the couple falling in love. I don’t know what Malted Candy was expecting of the poor girl. After all, he was initially attracted to her because she reminded him of a character from a pornographic novel he was reading.
While these story threads are certainly only diversions from the main spectacle (the fights), they do seem to enhance the film, and I hold this opinion despite my cynical and jaded nature. Actually, the love story between the star-crossed lovers only seems bearable while you’re watching the film – when you think about it before and after viewing the film it all seems so tackily contrived.
The action scenes are scattered sparingly throughout the film, but the one that stands out has no relevance to the plot whatsoever. Sammo crashes a gambling den and is challenged to fight the boss. Big deal, you might think, except the boss turns out to be Lau Kar-Leung and the fight is stunning. The time that passed between this and his Shaw Brothers heyday seems to have been kind to Lau, and no doubt out of respect for the elder, Hung lets Lau’s character win the bout.
The dramatic events that unfold near the end of the film pay off when Sammo and Rice Pudding (Mang Hoi) take revenge on Master Ng. I argue that the reliance on melodrama gives the film the right tone for this climax as Sammo goes apeshit at Ng’s mansion, taking on pretty much his entire gang (including Billy Chow – always worth watching in a Hung directed film) in a way that only Sammo knows how.
Pedicab Driver is one of the finest examples of 80s action in a Hong Kong film, and as many people cite that decade as the most impressive in turns of action choreography, that’s quite a recommendation. It’s frustrating that the movie isn’t out on DVD yet (legitimately, anyway) as it deserves a much higher profile. No doubt it’ll turn up one day, and those action scenes will blow away a whole new generation of fans.
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Classic subtitle quote!
Pedicab Driver is a rich source of funny subtitles. My favourite was a conversation where the line: “Auntie, you talk like a whore” came up. Check out my review for FORBIDDEN CITY COP, too, I’ve taken a couple of screenshots of some good subs. As you know, I’m compiling some good ones for a future article, so I’m not giving away all my secrets just yet…