Failan

In FAILAN, Hong Kong top star Cecilia Cheung plays a Chinese woman named Failan who, after the death of her parents, comes to Korea to make a living. She pays for a fake marriage in order to obtain a working permit, but is then led unwitting into a bar to work as a prostitute. Only by some quick thinking is she able to escape her situation and find a job at a laundromat run by an old woman. Meanwhile her legal husband, a third-rate gangster played by Choi Min-shik (SHIRI, HAPPY END), is embroiled in troubles of his own. He dreams of returning to his hometown, but feuds with fellow gang members as his life increasingly nears collapse. One day he receives a letter written in halting Korean from his wife, whom he has never met. Watching this film develop is in some ways like discovering a diamond in the trash. The story reveals for us emotions which we don't expect, but the film is not "uplifting" in the usual sense. Rather it makes us question feelings which we take for granted. Director Song Hae-sung seems to have found himself in his second feature. His directing style never overshadows the film, but it provides space for this remarkable story to develop. He also makes excellent use of Choi Min-shik, perhaps the most talented actor in Korea today. Unfortunately Cecilia Cheung's character is not presented with the same depth; this is the film's main fault, perhaps attributable as much to the screenwriters and director as to the actress herself. Nonetheless FAILAN is one of the year's must-sees, and a personal favorite. Johnny To's two favorite stars, Andy Lau and Lau Ching-wan, vie for the title of "mahjong warrior" in a familiar story involving characters who have nothing else in life but mahjong and make it the goal of their existence to be number one at the table. The theme has been done to death in Cantonese comedies, which makes FAT CHOI SPIRIT's sparkle all the more unexpected. Louis Koo is also on hand as Andy's non-gambling kid brother, a personage whose initial importance somehow gets lost as the movie progresses. Not so the object of Andy's non-gambling affections, Gigi Leung. In a welcome departure from her "girl next door" image, Gigi plays a ditzy dame who will do almost anything to get her man. At various turns a stewardess, traffic cop, and tax assessor, she sports a variety of looks from silicone-enhanced buxom bimbo to mop-headed bureaucrat. Gigi seems to relish the chance to let loose, and the result is her best comedy performance to date. Lau Ching-wan, one of the most gifted actors on the Hong Kong screen, is given an unchallenging, screwball role that is handled with appropriate zaniness. Andy Lau has more screen time, and while his thespian genes aren't duly exercised, he appears to enjoy very much displaying his screen idol charm. The fun is contagious, though the inevitable mah-jongg tournament finale will seem a tad long to those of us unversed in the game. The picture neatly concludes with a festive seaside mahjong coda that virtually guarantees audiences exit the theater so full of the "fat choi" spirit that they will hardly care the movie is less banquet than fast food snack.