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Hong Kong's dark lord
The screams you hear in local cinemas these days are coming from Hong Kong psychological thriller "Koma." But director Lo Chi Leung insists that horror films are a tool for him to reveal the sensitivity of human relationships.
Chi Ching (played by Lee Sin Je) is a rich young lady stricken with kidney disease, who loathes her unhealthy body. She witnesses a horrible kidney-stealing crime committed at a hotel during a wedding reception, and testifies against Suen Ling (Karena Lam), a poor girl who has a sick mother. A secret affair between Suen and Chi's boyfriend, Wai Mun (Andy Hui), is also exposed. But when Suen later saves Chi from an attempted assault, the two girls put away their differences and become best friends. But unexpectedly more secrets unfold. The film is filled with bloody tense and dazzling suspense. Lo admits that he was inspired by American director Stanley Kubrick's thriller "The Shining." "If you want to tell the audience that there are ghosts behind the door - what becomes most horrifying is not the ghosts themselves, but the process of opening the door. If the audience feels the anticipatory fear until the opening of the sixth door, then it's a successful thriller," says Lo. Celebrated for his human sensitivity in any genre he tackles, Lo's most famous work is another horror movie, "Inner Senses" (2003), which is also the last film of late pop idol Leslie Cheung, who jumped off a five-star hotel in Hong Kong last April 1. Although the movie earned Lo the Outstanding Young Director Award at last year's Hong Kong Film Festival, many fans have attributed Cheung's suicide to the influence of the movie. "It's unfair. Lo is a talented director," says Long Long, a 26-year-old film fan, who watched "Inner Senses" one day after Cheung's death. "His work has a different angle and visual effect from other horror movies. He has his own ideas and attitude about life. I guess some details in the movie are derived from his own psychological experience. But 'Inner Senses' is a bit flat and lacks suspense." Lo agrees. "'Inner Senses' is a static movie in a gray hue. But 'Koma' is dynamic, filled with red, green and yellow colors," he says. "I have used a lot of short and fast scenes in 'Koma.' I never repeat myself." Lo has smartly united actresses Lee and Lam, the two princesses of Hong Kong horror movies, to play this game of victim and victimizer until they can no longer tell the two identities apart. As the best supporting actress at the Taiwan Film Festival, Lam is also the heroine in "Inner Senses." Lee has won Best Actress Award at the Hong Kong Film Festival for her excellent acting in box office hit "The Eye." The two long-haired beauties show an unvoiced pact and subtle chemistry in the movie. "My sixth sense told me that they are naturals for the roles. But I try to challenge them, giving them the roles that are completely opposite to their own characters. They became real friends, and the final effect even surprised me," says Lo. Lo offers an anecdote, showing the closeness of the horror princesses. "Once we shot an emotional scene, when Lam breaks down upon hearing of her mother's death," he recalls. "I only shot one girl crying, but when I played the tape back, there were two girls crying. The other was Lee." Displaying her trademark dimples, Lam chuckles that she was usually the one being bullied (by ghosts) in "Inner Senses" - but this time, she's the one who gets to do the bullying. "Women are creatures of the most complicated emotions," says Lam. "Lee is a strong competitor for me, but it's a good competition that has improved both of us." She explains that her character, Suen, who always wears a purple skirt, is not a bad woman. She truly loves Wai, and needs money to save her mother. Her world has only three people: her mother, Wai and her primary schoolmate, the criminal confederate. All eventually leave her. But this horror movie princess reveals that she seldom watches thrillers herself. Perhaps it has to do with the trauma of making a horror movie. "When shooting a thriller movie, the director needs to be cruel to actors and actresses, to press you to create the right effect. It really hurts," she says. "In addition, horror movies often give me a negative attitude to life. People with a sweet face might not have a sweet heart. Humanity does have a dark side. For this movie, I suggest the audiences should be above 16 years old." But Lo says this is exactly what he wants to show. "People, seemingly normal people, can have evil in their hearts. I want to show how this works from the inside out," he says. "It's not necessary for a good movie to be educational. But it should release something close to our souls, like the novels by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami: nothing educational, but something that is fluid, with true feelings. "But my next film is much brighter and happier. It is about a 16-year-old girl who can understand insect language and has many insect friends," Lo chuckles. |
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