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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional film-making., February 25, 2000
Andy Lau has specialised in his clueless triad roles, but this is the rare one that really hits the mark. Instead of just being the aimless brute he has sometimes portrayed, Moment of Romance really gives him an excellent chance to shine. The plot follows Wah Dee as he is persuaded to be a getaway driver for the dangerous Trumpet (Tommy Wong). After the police stumble upon the robbery, Wah Dee uses an innocent girl as a hostage to ensure the safe escape of himself and his contemparies. Trumpet insists that she could identify them and should be killed. Dee, however, preserves her and a bond develops between them. However, with Trumpet seeking to take over the gang, Wah Dee is soon in danger alongside his new-found love. This film really touches the heart with its skillful development of the characters and the gradual love between the doomed lovers. Wu Chien Lien is innocence personified and her performance really lingers in the memory. Unmissible.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Of Its Genre, July 12, 2003
By A Customer
A Moment of Romance is responsible for many a Hong Kong Cinema cliché, and indeed the film is itself far from original. A disaffected youth, a "good girl" romantic interest and a cartoonish villain all figure into the 1990 hit. Director Benny Chan has his way with the clichés, and throws in enough slow motion, syrupy Cantopop montages and hyperemotional crescendos to tax even the most weepy audience member. However, regardless of its genre excess-or perhaps because of it-the film succeeds, and is even viewed a classic of its genre.
Andy Lau is Wah Dee, a tough triad member who gets drawn into a spiraling circle of events. He's picked by fellow gangmember Trumpet (Tommy Wong) to be the getaway driver in a jewel heist, but things don't go as planned. The getaway is chaotic, and Dee takes a rich student, Jojo (Wu Chien-Lien), hostage to make good his escape. Trumpet wants her dead, as she's seen their faces, but Dee lets her live, saying that he'll be responsible for her. Presumably, Dee believes she'll let them off in exchange for her life, but he doesn't even posit such an exchange. He merely puts her on his bike, takes her home, and lets her go. He's like a Chinese Clint Eastwood, only he rides bikes and looks like Andy Lau.
Unfortunately, things are not that easy. The cops find Jojo's purse at the crime scene and drag her in for questioning. She still won't identify the robbers, but Trumpet doesn't want to take any chances. Dee rescues her again from Trumpet's clutches, but the seeds are sown. With an internal gang war brewing, Trumpet wants Dee dead, and the cops (led by Lau Kong) want him brought in. And, Jojo wants his affections.
The "good girl loves bad boy" scenario is far from new, but A Moment of Romance is far more than a teenybopper romantic fantasy. Dee is a through-and-through triad, meaning he's not averse to violence or criminal activity, but there's a basic morality within him that prevents him from simply doing away with Jojo. His existence reveals itself to be one of resigned self-loathing. He's not happy with his life, but sees no real exit. It's that internal angst that drives him to reject Jojo at first, and even to mistreat her in hopes that she'll leave. Eventually he accepts her love, but the choice is not made frivolously. It's handled quietly, and with a subtle emotional weight.
Andy Lau brings a righteous anger and hidden tenderness to an exceptional genre character. What's so compelling about the character and the performance is that Wah Dee acts and doesn't talk. The filmmakers go the character and action route in telling this story, and the result is far better than what you'd expect from this genre.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the best movie ive ever seen, May 20, 2001
I first saw this movie on a local 'foreign movies' channel. Not being able to get hold of the name of the movie... i spent many long months trying to find its title and in eventually doing that, i had to go on another search to find stores that actually stocked this movie. Quite simply... this is a truely great movie. The characters really grow on you, and the story is quite emotionally involving. Its the sort of movie that keeps you up at nights because you just cant escape the glowy feeling that almost attatches itself to you. This movie is pretty much perfect. Buy it and you wont regret it.
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