"Space Emperor God Σ" (a Japanese animation) enjoys its prime time in HK in the 1980s. The film is based on it and is an abode of looking-back, "nostalgia" for the 40 to 55 years old HK Chinese dads and moms to bring their high school teenage kids(if these young ones are willing to) to see it together with their frequent explanation. There is a stalwart crew, a juggernaut of seasoned, familiar and experienced actors appearing in the film, and Pat Ha is a brilliant surprise. What the directors desire to capture is the spirit of 'righteousness', 'friendship', 'courage' which are fading away in our time.
The visuals are fully printed with a lot of "HK motion picture signatures". I especially enjoy the peculiar aesthetics of the HK cinematique violence, very strong visual stimulation / arousal, it can be easily recognized. The scene of the syndicate boss being stabbed by sharp blades reminds me of the death of Julius Caesar who got assassinated by 40 (60?) liberator Roman senators, though there is no atrocious "Et tu, Brute?" sentiment here.
Though Juno Mak said that So Uk Estate looks like a robot so they pick this housing project as the backdrop of the story, I worry that it may need to strive hard to grab resonance from the audience, i.e. barely convincing. When the said Japanese became popular in town, most children at that time were housed in better environment, both govt.-owned or private. Only small number remained living in those housing projects which were intended for working class stratum. A Chinese saying goes like this, "It's always the lower class dare exercise righteousness." With such a physical backdrop, do the directors imply this?
A production of heart and thought for the city... and, the vocalist of the title song of the said animation is our late and always-beloved Leslie Cheung. Somehow the movie brings back the good memory of HK's canto-pop gold time where talented stars were so easily thought up about.
