Bullet In The Head (The 'Konplete' Final John Woo Cut)

1989 · KonCategoryIII

John Woo’s wildest and weightiest action spectacle is also his most personal movie, one that emerged out of his separation from producer Tsui Hark. The two agreed that the final Better Tomorrow could be set amidst the war in Vietnam. But when it became clear that Woo couldn’t make the film he wanted—a rags-to-riches epic that, like Cimino’s The Deer Hunter , is structured to begin with a wedding and end in mourning—he left the series and told the story with a new cast of to-the-death friends played by Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, and Waise Lee. Nothing else in Woo’s career compares with the exuberance and emotionality of Bullet in the Head ​ ’ s opening sequences of brawls, romances, and turf wars. But the dreamy, propulsive plot (and its existential nods to Scorsese and Nicholas Ray) soon gives way to a nightmare Vietnam, which echoes the opportunism and violence of not just the war (including, specifically, Eddie Adams’s Saigon Execution ), but the 1967 Hong Kong riots and Tiananmen Square. Hell is both war and other people in John Woo’s epic tragedy. “It’s war. Everybody loses.” It’s certainly not unfair to say that people familiar with the works of legendary Hong Kong director John Woo tend to think of his films as being loaded with stylised action, generally designed around the idea that gunplay is cool , and must look as such. It’s been his shtick for decades now so it will no doubt come as something of a shock to watch his oft-overlooked 1990 epic Bullet in the Head and see a different side to fire fights and bloodshed. Bee (Tony Leung), Fai (Jackie Cheung) and Wing (Waise Lee) are three friends and gang members in the 1960s, who often clash with a rival gang. After Fai barely escaped a mugging on Bee’s wedding day, the two of them get their revenge, accidentally killing gang leader Keung. Along with Wing, they flee Hong Kong to Vietnam (currently in the middle of its American War), hoping to work for local crime lord Leung (Chung Lin). They meet hitman Lok (Simon Yam), and while attempting to rescue singer-turned-prostitute Ching (Yolinda Yam), they end up facing countless harsh realities, navigating the terrors of a country currently ripped in half and under invasion. In a place where morals are meaningless and it’s everyone for themselves, they fight not only for their own lives, but to keep their brotherhood alive. On the surface, Bullet in the Head might sound like your typical John Woo film, but watching it is an entirely different experience. While even the most basic action films of his have these themes of brotherhood, loyalty and betrayal, nowhere are they so strongly represented than here. It takes a bit of time to really get going, though, which is probably its biggest flaw: The film has a lot of characters and relationships to establish and it’s not always done with a tonne of finesse. By the time of the big shootout in the nightclub, you’ve forgotten why Lok is out there risking life and limb for these three bozos he barely knows. Thankfully you’re not dwelling on these moments too long: the chemistry between the four leads is strong enough to carry the film by itself, and features riveting performances from everyone, but especially from Cheung as the innocent Fai who’s forced into increasingly horrible situations, and Lee’s Wing whose inner conflict and change throughout the story is perfectly executed. The setting is extremely rich for storytelling purposes. In a way the basic skeleton of the plot could have been applied to any time period and setting, but 1967 Vietnam is a unique setting, one that allows for a level of lawlessness and tension that would otherwise not be possible. The political strains in the country, and in the world at large, are the biggest antagonistic force in the picture, putting our heroes in increasingly terrible predicaments they have no way of escaping unscathed. In this world, even the strongest bond between friends is put to its breaking points, and the prisoner of war scenes are some of the hardest to watch in Woo’s entire filmography. Violence is very infrequently glorified here; it’s a horrible act that might be tense and exciting, but for far different reasons than when Chow Yun Fat slides down a banister dual-wielding pistols. Those looking for that high octane Woo action will be pleased, but those who think his stuff is often too blasé about gunfights will enjoy the weight that each shootout has. It’s a heavy movie that questions morality itself, and what is right or wrong when survival is on the line. It’s an extremely hostile period in Vietnam and Hong Kong’s history, and this is reflected in the lives of our heroes. No one leaves war without scars. Some physical, others psychological. But as Woo makes brutally clear during the movie’s final acts, some bullets leave longer, deeper impressions than others. Verdict: Arguably Woo’s heroic bloodshed masterpiece, Bullet in the Head is a heart-wrenching story that will surely leave an impression on you once