The Stool Pigeon goes against the norm
0 
In a recent talk, Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Yee shared his experience about how to deal with Mainland film examiners. As for advice when shooting action films, he concluded that directors had better use a panoramic view to shoot violent scenes.
His fellow Hong Kong director Dante Lam's latest action film "The Stool Pigeon" shattered what he had previously learned.
The upcoming Hong Kong cops and gangsters film "The Stool Pigeon" was screened for the press in Beijing recently, and proved the film had passed the Mainland examiners and would be presented in its original form without any cuts.
In this film, the director prefers to be more realistic when expressing his aesthetics of violence. When a stool pigeon is stabbed by a group of gangsters, the director zooms in to capture the facial expression of the stool pigeon. While an informer is escaping, Dante Lam cuts the sound and adds light music to augment the actor's concentration.
For female audience members, some of the violent scenes may be tough to swallow; but rest assured most men will enjoy the action.
One critic said the film wiped away the recent years of love stories, as it recalls the classic gang themes from Hong Kong crime films. There are definitely a few violent scenes which stimulate the senses and gets the adrenalin flowing.
Meanwhile, Lam has made a subversive change to the cast. Although the film is made by the same team that produced the action film, "The Beast Stalker," Nick Cheung, who won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as the kidnapper in that film, plays a cop in this one. And the sergeant Nicholas Tse from "The Beast Stalker" now portrays a recently released convict who becomes an informer for Cheung.
This is a big break for Tse, and his performance will provide him with a good chance to win Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards next year.
This role reversal is also seen with Kwai Lun-Mei and Lu Yi, whose girl-next-door and "sunny boy" images have already impressed mainland audiences. Kwai plays a gang member and girlfriend of the gang's big brother Lu Yi.
These changes within the film and the actors may not reform the current downturn situation of Hong Kong films, but at least it's a refreshing break.
