“My Heart is that Eternal Rose” is a movie that proved to be an adventure to track down. In the mid-1990's I got my first glimpse of it when the final reel was shown as the opening to the “Cinema of Vengeance” documentary that formed part of my initial education into Hong Kong cinema as an impressionable teenager. At the time, it was not easy to get hold of these movies in the UK and near enough impossible to track down a copy of this one, even imported. It was only years later that I finally got my hands on a re-released DVD copy and able to tick it off my wish list. Now out on Blu-ray, I am revisiting to see if it was still able to meet those expectations I had build up over the years.
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Uncle Cheung (Kwan Hoi-san) is a retired gangster who now runs a bar with the aid of his daughter Lap (Joey Wang), that is frequented by her boyfriend Rick (Kenny Bee). Cheung is coerced into doing a job and smuggle another gangster's son into Hong Kong and enlists the help of Rick and corrupt policeman (Ng Man-tat). When the job goes wrong, Rick is forced to flee to the Philippines and Lap is forced to turn to Shen (Chan Wai-man) to save her father. Six years pass and Lap is now Shen's woman with only Cheung (Tony Leung), one of Shen's gang members, as a friend. When another gangster threatens to give evidence against Shen, a hitman is hired. This turns out to be Rick and the trigger for all their fates to intertwine as the reunited lovers face an uncertain future.
The label “Heroic Bloodshed” that encompsed so many gangster movies following the success of “A Better Tomorrow” isn't really a good fit for this film despite it encapsulating a lot of the familiar traits of the genre. In my mind, it is much more of a Neo-Noir with its characters doomed by a moment of ill fate. Lap is an unwilling femme fatale with each of the other main characters in love with her. Shen's obsession ultimately leads to tragedy.
The direction by Patrick Tam is outstanding. Most of the action is filmed in close up, giving an intimacy to a number of the scenes. Even the action sequences are shot in a similar fashion which is unusual but also effective. The characters have been given a lot more depth than is often seen in similar pictures and so when the bullets fly at the end, their is an emotional investment in their fate. Often action sequences are shown through wide shots, pans and other cinematic tricks to create a viscera thrill. By keeping it close, with freeze frames interspersed with slow motion the effect is more vivid.
The quieter scenes too benefit from this approach. The whole relationship between Cheung and Lap is presented through facial expressions rather than what is said. Cheung is seen looking at Lap through windows both at the club and later at the hide out. Always close but with distance between them.
Tony Leung won best supporting actor at the 9th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as Cheung and it is a superb performance. He is the heart of the movie as we observe his growth from naive sidekick to honorable knight. He reacts away from the violence and even when forced into confrontation, we see his shock through the aforementioned close ups. His scenes with Joey Wang's Lap have more resonance than those between Lap and Rick because of the way they are established, which whilst hurts the central love story to a degree, only adds more dramatic weight into what is normally a throwaway character that is served up to be sacrificed. Joey Wang, so often typecast in ghost stories, gets to be utterly radiant and it is understandable why she attracts all the attention from the men. Kenny Bee has the weakest part of the three. Nothing wrong with his performance, just his is the least interesting and despite being the nominal hero is not really part of the main narrative until the final third.
Chan Wai-man is a particularly loathsome villain but again has an interesting dynamic. Clearly also in love with Lap and is a restrained performance that only occasionally switches to violence, making him all the more dangerous. Ng Man-tat has another pre Stephen Chow era role as the corrupt cop and Gordon Liu with a ridiculous wig, crops up as a truly vile heavy.
The romanticism of this movie is what really lifts it above its contemporaries. The love triangle at its core is underplayed by its sympathetic protagonists. The sense of ill fate and looming tragedy is never far away. Whilst the outcome may be predetermined by genre conventions, “My Heart is that Eternal Rose” is definitely much more than that. Beautifully shot with exemplary performances. Quite simply a movie to fall in love with.
