A Chinese Ghost/Comedy/Action/Fantasy "Story"

I must admit I have a prejudice against films from China. I do not like many of them, and even the good ones often have things that bother me. Of course there are exceptions. I am very impressed by the cinema of Wong Kar-Wai. Jiang Wen's Devils on the Doorstep is one of the best films I have ever seen and one of The Book's most egregious oversights. And of course I enjoy a few of the Hong Kong kung fu films despite their silliness. However, for the most parts, there are a lot of tropes of Chinese films that I dislike. There is usually a very simple good/evil divide. The acting is over the top (almost like American silent film acting but with sound). The comedy to me is sophomoric and falls flat. Worst of all, it can be hard to get a version of Chinese films with decent, or even coherent and accurate, subtitles. Just generally, most do not seem like well put together films by American standards, or even the standards of neighboring countries like Japan. I am sorry to say that many of these tropes are in the film A Chinese Ghost Story, and they hurt my enjoyment of the film. However, there was much to enjoy about the film as well, which evened things out a bit.

The story is a simple one. A young tax collector (Leslie Cheung), naive and cowardly, is in a rural town and has to sleep in a haunted temple. He falls in love with a young girl (Joey Wong), but she is a ghost (unbeknownst to him) and tries to suck out his soul to give to her master. However, because he is good and charming, she falls in love with him, but of course cannot be with him due to her ghostly servitude. The two have romantic scenes and misunderstanding, but once all of the facts come out,the young man vows to help free her from her servitude and help her get reincarnated, enlisting the help of a Taoist monk/ghostbuster (Wu Ma) along the way. The story and script are simplistic and silly, and mostly not in a charming sort of way. The acting, as I have said, is over the top, though Wong gives us some tender moments and Ma can be a little fun. Most of the jokes are painful (especially the physical comedy which includes a reaction shot of Cheung seeing Ma take a piss) and often nonsensical. Everything is of course very formulaic. However, there are some things to like about the film.

First and foremost, it is a visually enchanting movie. I would not go so far as to say it is stunning, but it is always very inventive and imaginative. The sets are, for the most part, either very beautiful or quite creepy, and the filmmakers use their small budget (compared to American films) very well to set the mood with lighting, smoke machines, and other techniques. There are also quite a few impressive, if sometimes cheesy, special effects. Rabid wolves, zombies, killer trees, witches with giant tongues that fill whole buildings, and dark knights on horseback are just a few of the creatures we see in the film. In this day and age especially, it is great to see the use of practical effects rather than CGI or digital effects used so well in a film, and this adds a lot of enjoyment to the experience of watching it and reminds me of the films of Sam Raimi. There are also great effects for when magic is used, like fireballs or mystical spells. Finally, the fight choreography and scenes of the ghosts flying (as well as the costume designs) are superb, and add some fast paced excitement and wonder to the film watching experience. Visually, this movie is unique and quite a treat to behold, especially when the lead actress flies about or the undead come out to attack.

'Cus this is Thriiiiiiiiilllllllerrrrrrrrr! Chinese Thriller tonight!

Speaking of being fun to watch, this film provides quite a bit of eye candy for the hetero males and lesbians in the audience. Wong is absolutely gorgeous, from the way she dresses to her facial expressions to her giddy schoolgirl laughter to her sensuous body language. The sexual scene, which get more graphic than I expected, really are not tedious to watch because of her beauty. What's more, if you have any kind of foot fetish or just a "thing" for feet (which the Chinese certainly do) then this is the movie for you. The camera lovingly focuses on Wong's pretty little feet and sexy ankle bracelet (which actually summons her ghostly matriarch) multiple times in the film. I got quite a bit of enjoyment out of this myself I must admit, and it helped turn the experience of watching the film around to a positive for me. I do not usually like gratuitous sexuality in films purely for titillation's sake, but the sexual scenes in this film are just right, not too long and sexy enough to add to the film. This is definitely a leg man's movie.

"Oh my, is that ectoplasm running down your leg, or are you just happy to see me?"

Another reason why the sexy scenes work is also a reason why the film as a whole remains watchable: the romance is actually believable and engaging. No matter how great a film's visuals are, if the plot fails on all fronts it is doomed. This film certainly fails on many fronts. Its comedy is almost entirely tedious, it isn't scary, and it is entirely predictable (the only refreshing plot point is that unlike American films it does not feel the need to have an entirely happy ending where the guy gets the girl). However, the romance is actually a treat. We can believe that this ghost girl would fall for this bumbling guy because of his kindness and brave actions to help her. Though the romance is also predictable, it is a treat to see her watch him from afar, giggling at his buffoonery, falling deeper in love. We believe his devotion to her and cheer when he bravely rescues her, or when she rescues him. There is tension when he comes to visit his lover and must hide in plain sight from the other ghosts, who he thinks are her conservative family members. This belief in the romance causes us to like the two characters much more than their paper-thin  and poorly written characterizations or their overacting might otherwise allow us, and it makes their scenes of love and sex more enjoyable as opposed to tedious. In fact, the scene where he has to hide from the ghosts gives the film it's most beautiful, sensual and enduring image, when Wong submerges her head into her bath where Cheung is hiding to fill his lungs with air by giving him their first passionate kiss (and also a sexy and funny moment where she is forced to get into the tub naked with Cheung still submerged in order to hide him, giving him a sneak peak at her goods).

Clearly he's not the only one who gets wet in this scene!

Wu Ma, perhaps the most veteran and well known actor (in China anyway) in this film gives us a fun performance as the Taoist monk. His fight scenes can get quite impressive, and they add a lot for the guys watching the film who might not be so into the romance. He also gives us what I consider to be the only genuinely funny part of the movie. Not joke: out of nowhere in the middle of the film, even though no other person had sung at any point is this film and there was only one song playing during a sex scene before, we suddenly get a scene of Ma singing about Taoist principles while doing what is essentially a swordfighting breakdance. What insane mind thought of that shit! On to of that, his use of mag gives us some of the more interesting visuals of the film.

These new Menthol cigarettes are extra, EXTRA cool.

Sadly, though the film has great visuals, the same cannot be said for its audio. Besides that one funny song/breakdance, the soundtrack mostly sucks. There is one kind of nice song during a romantic scene, but though the song is nice it kind of gives the scene a soap opera feel to it (a vibe which the lighting was already giving off far too often). Other than that the soundtrack just sucked and really didn't add anything to the film

I might have enjoyed the film more is she had stuck that tongue in my ears during this film to block out the sound, or if she had stuck it a few other places.... wait, no, she can expand that thing to destroy whole houses, that shit is dangerous!

All in all, while this film had a lot going for it visually, sexually and romantically, the inept and predictable script, over the top acting, and bad soundtrack robbed this film of much of the enjoyment its fantasy and whimsy could have brought. For Chinese viewers who are used to and expect these kind of tropes I can see why it was such a big hit. From an American perspective, however, it just appears to amateurish to often to be a true delight. I can only give this film a 6/10, Good rating despite its high points.

Bring Me A Plate of Fettucini Alfredo...Or Something Like That, I'm Too Drunk to Remember

Sam Peckinpah is known for his violent films. In a spoof of him on the show Monty Python's Flying Circus, Eric Idle claims that he is making a new film called Buckets of Blood Pouring Over People's Heads. Frankly such an idea is not far off from something Peckinpah would make. Having already seen the extended (read the director's originally envisioned and thus far superior) version of the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and loved it (especially the score from my favorite musician Bob Dylan, who also puts in a performance in the film) I was excited for this one. And I must say that, for the most part, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia met all of my expectations and exceeded them. The person who reviewed this film for The Book claims that this film "divides audiences into those who rate it a five-star classic and those who see it as a one-star dog." Though I would only give it four stars, I am certainly in the former category.

The first thing one notices about the film is that the production values have significantly decreased since his last film. Because Pat Garrett was a commercial failure, this film only got 1/3 of that film's budget, which was already low. This does come out as a negative at different parts of the film. The sound quality is not perfect and he obviously could not afford a huge name like Dylan to do the score to this film. Some scenes clearly show the strains of the low budget. In the graveyard scene it is clear in further away shots that there is really only a pile of empty clothes in the coffin, and I'm pretty sure they were trying to do a day-for-night shot in those scenes (never a good idea). The film also has a bit of an over reliance on slow motion.

Of course I obviously loved the film in spite of these problems or I would not have given it such praise earlier. There is much to be loved about this 70s exploitation film. First off, the acting and the characters are superb. To start off with we have our main protagonist. No, it is not Alfredo Garcia, nor is it the man who kills him. The great plot point of the film is that Garcia is already dead, and our main character is only searching for his grave site to find his head in order to get a reward (though the two have an interesting tangential relationship). Our main character is Bennie, a sleazy piano player pretending to be a tough guy. He can't pass up the chance to get $10,000 seemingly so easily. However, he finds as the film goes on that his path is not so easy, and ironically, though he does not have to actually kill Garcia to get his head, he ends up having to kill quite a few other people to complete his quest, which moves from a quest for money to a quest for understanding in the face of senseless death to a quest for vengeance. Throughout the film the actor Warren Oates does a phenomenal job portraying Oates weaknesses and yet also his determination, and as the shit starts piling up he does a wonderful job portraying the mental strain Bennie is going through. This is really what sets the film apart from other 70s exploitation schlock, the acting is fantastic and deep from nearly all involved, especially with Oates. Plus he does great at the kick-ass violence we've come to expect from this genre and director.

Since they got Bob Dylan to do the score for the last film, Oates should have just called up his buddy Hall and the two of them could have done the score. Introducing his whore girlfriend with "Maneater" playing in the background would have been awesome!

Isela Vega also gives a great performance as Bennie's whore girlfriend Elita. Besides giving us some eye candy and some truly emotional love scenes between our leads, her character is critical to the plot in many ways. Firstly, she sets up a link between our main character and the object of his quest Garcia. She has not seen Bennie in 3 days because she has been sleeping with Garcia. This allows her to take Bennie to his destination, as well as creates an emotional connection between Bennie and this man he has never even met. Secondly, she gives Bennie a purpose to his quest beyond money: he wants to use the cash to help the two of them escape this horrid life so they can get married. This allows us to sympathize much more with our main character. Finally, Elita function's as Bennie's moral and mental rock. She tries to dissuade him from the quest for moral reasons, and the tragedies that befall them foreshadow the horrors that are to come. When Elita is killed, Bennie loses his mental and moral ties to this world, we see him slowly unravel, and he moves off his quest for money into a quest to comprehend why anyone would want Garcia's head, how his head could possibly be worth the life of his beloved, and eventually into a simple quest for revenge. 

 

 Wow, two characters are having a peaceful moment in a Peckinpah film. You know that's not gonna last.

 

This kind of intricate plotting really shows why Peckinpah was a cut above the rest. Unfortunately, this character is also involved in one of the most dated and controversial scenes in the movie. So the two lovebirds are having a picnic when two scruffy White guys on motorcycles show up. I immediately think, "Oh, great, they're going to rape her," and of course I am proven right almost immediately. Kris Kristofferson, who played the lead role of Billy in Peckinpah's last film is now consigned to a minor role with very few lines as the biker who rapes her. However, after stripping her and hitting her, he seems to have a moment of weakness and goes off to sulk under a rock. Touched by his show of vulnerability, she goes to him to comfort him and immediately starts to passionately and willingly make out with him before Benny can come and shoot him. The idea that a woman would act this way after she was about to be raped towards her assailant is ridiculous and completely sexist, though unfortunately not atypical of films from this time or genre (nor of Westerns on this time, since Clint Eastwood could pretty much rape any woman in a film and they would apparently like it). This is a big fault of the film, though typical of Peckinpah's obsession with sex and violence.

So, why does anyone want Garcia's head? Well, apparently, before he kicked the bucket, Garcia worked for a man known only as El Jefe (played menacingly by Emilio Fernandez). He was all set to be the bosses heir when it becomes clear that he has made the fatal mistake of knocking up the boss' daughter (don't they always?). El Jefe tortures his daughter in from of her mother to get her to talk (setting the tone of the film in a shocking but well-done way), then offers $1 million for Garcia's head. Clearly this guy doesn't fuck around, and is only interested in his image, viewing his daughter as property that has been violated and his trust betrayed by someone he considered a son. In fact in a darkly hilarious ironic twist, Bennie shows up with the head of Garcia the moment his child has just been baptized, and the delighted grandfather plays with his grandson while his daughter looks on in horror at the head of her lover. In perhaps the best part of the movie, Bennie shoots EL Jefe's guards to avenge his beloved Elita, and while he has his gun pointed at El Jefe, his daughter looks him right in the eye and says, "Kill him." Bennie does, and El Jefe's wife smiles as he makes his getaway.

Weren't expecting that one were ya buddy? Who's El Jefe now!

Even the more stereotypical roles in the film are delightful and well done. Benny is first hired by two White guys in business attire who are complete fish out of water in the slums of Mexico. For one thing, they are more psychotic and unpredictable about their violence than the Mexican characters. A scene where a whore rubs her hand sexily across one of their thighs and the guy just decks her by slamming his elbow in her face comes right out of nowhere and foreshadows the unexpected violence that is to come. When they meet Bennie on the road after he has been accosted by Garcia's family, they pull out automatic weapons and start blasting everything in sight. They certainly add a lot of fun to the film.

Whether they be bikers, mobster, businessmen, or cops, White guys in exploitation films are always hilariously huge assholes.

Beyond what I have already mentioned there are many other incredibly smart touches that raise this film above other exploitation films of this time. As Bennie goes mad he starts talking to and berating Garcia's head. In a great scene he asks the head, "why does everybody want you, what makes you so valuable? Are you full of silver and gems..." and them he flips over the head in a bag to reveal it is covered in flies, beautifully done. On top of that, the low budget of the film gives it a wonderfully earthy and gritty sort of feel. Bennie becomes increasingly dirty physically and his soul becomes besmirched with his evil deeds. You can really feel the heat and smell the sweat and rotting flesh as the car drives on in the Mexican heat. The sex is very earthy too. The 60s and 70s were a time when men and women alike could be portrayed totally naturally and still be seen as sexy, after the time of the picture-perfect starlets of the 30s-50s but before the airbrushed and digitally enhanced "perfection" of today's actresses. Also, the director's own alcohol problems show through in the fact that everyone is drinking constantly, even while driving. This all gives the film a natural feel that gives the plot greater depth and makes the violence, sexual or otherwise, that much more shocking. Today you can fill a screen with digital gore, but often it is nowhere near as shocking as simple cheap practical effects in a realistic setting. All in all this film delivers all of the violence and sex I came to expect with quite a bit of artistry, great acting and intricate plot that I did not expect. I give this film an 8/10 Amazing grade.