Screenwriter for the likes of Stephen Chow (“Shaolin Soccer” and “The Mermaid”), Chih-chiang has since then been exploring, in the director chair, very diverse genres including a musical and a contemporary western. His fourth feature as director/writer, dwells upon the mix of crime, police procedural, noir and a touch of psychology, reminiscent of past Hong Kong Cinema traditions. “A Witness Out of The Blue” puts together a convoluted script and a stellar cast helmed by ubiquitous Louis Koo to achieve mixed results.
Immediately and before the rolling titles, we are catapulted on a murder scene; a junkie is found dead in a filthy basement by a passer-by before being knocked out by a mysterious man running away, probably the murderer. The only living soul present at the murder is a beautiful blood-red parrot that blurts out seemingly random words. However, soon we discover that nothing on that crime-scene is what it looks.
Senior police inspector Yip Sau-ching (Philip Keung Ho-man) is in charge of the investigation and it doesn't take long to his clumsy officer Larry Lam (Louis Cheung Kai-chung) and pro-active policewoman Charmaine (Cherry Ngan Cheuk-ling) to discover that the fugitive man is Sean Wong (Louis Koo Tin-lok) and that he and the victim are linked to a botched robbery from three months before. The dramatic jewellery heist had resulted in an undercover agent and few bystanders being shot dead and many injured, including a jewellery shop assistant left with a crippling spine fracture. Plenty of motives for revenge therefore, and even more when we learn that the bag of stolen jewellery – previously in possession of the victim – has gone missing and that Sean, the brain behind the robber, is looking for it. As a consequence, this complicated case sees police and criminals both investigating the same murder for opposite reasons.
To maintain a low profile while trying to understand who got the loot, Sean rents a room in an eccentric household full of very lively elders and whose landlady (Jessica Hsuan) is waiting for a cornea transplant. The proximity to people of an age Sean will never probably reach and someone who is loosing something far more precious than money, stirs up Sean's already trouble soul, raising paranoia and moral regrets.
Fung Chih-chiang's effort in crime/thriller territory is a decent, if slightly frustrating work whose well orchestrated plot manages to be intricate enough to keep the attention level up, aided by the strong performances all around. Despite following the more than familiar murder mystery trope of indicting & acquitting one after the other the involved suspects, the plot is spiced up by the double investigation going on. The police one, led by Larry's stubbornness and intuition, and the underworld one carried out by Sean. Unfortunately, the solution of the enigma is not as satisfying as the process leading to it, and it can be fairly easily guessed before the end.
As for Hong Kong film best traditions, even “A Witness Out of The Blue” has the classic tonal shifts that characterise many good movies of the past; a mix of comedy, drama, thriller. So far so good. However, the problem with this film for me was that these tones seem to travel on parallel tracks, without ever meeting. On one side, we have Louis Cheung whose scenes have a comedy flavour, almost farcical at times, playing on his ineptitude, his love for stray cats and his involvement with a laughable loan shark for some very-hard-to-believe reasons; on the other side, the plotline involving Louis Koo is seriously dark and gritty. It almost feels like watching two different movies.
One element that speaks the language of Hong Kong cinema is the nuanced depiction of the villain. Sean is not a black-or-white baddie, he is a troubled and damaged soul, the typical noir character; his moral dilemma is playing up with his sanity and will guide his final actions. However, it is still a mystery to me why the script places him in the jolly octogenarian flatshare! I only guess it's to show the contrast with a serene and simple life he will never have, but it also results unnecessarily spoon-fed. The landlady character, on the other hand, is functional as it offers him a hook to his late redemption.
One big asset of “A Witness Out of The Blue” is its cast. Louis Cheung and Louis Koo are very reliable and popular actors. The former, despite the aforementioned comedy excess, fits comfortably in the shoes of the real protagonist of the film and the latter is in a role he has played many times before and can replicate with great flare, making his character multidimensional and even relatable. The supporting artists are all top notch too; always excellent, Philip Keung is the eternal second (unfortunately!), Cherry Ngan and Jessica Hsuan are rather believable and there are lots of familiar faces in small roles, like Patrick Tam, Andy On, Fiona Sit and even Sam Lee.
Production values in general are high standard. The cinematography is remarkable. From the very first scenes in the gritty industrial basement to the very end, it pays a beautiful tribute to the city of Hong Kong that here shines through and gives her best; the quirky apartments, the scenic rooftops, the waterways, the green outskirts, the robber in the busy commercial district. It assuredly confirms that Hong Kong is still the best possible city to host a crime thriller!
“A Witness Out of The Blue” has its faults but it is a watchable and entertaining thriller. It is a film that in the good old times would have been a run-of-the-mill work but now, somehow, it feels a bit like a treat. I am not sure yet if this is a good or a bad sign, just take it as it is.
