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Review: Bullet in the Head (1990)

Bullet in the Head (1990)

As someone who (clearly) loves film, I feel pretty lucky to live in a city where special screenings of films happen often. This past Saturday was such an opportunity. At the TIFF Lightbox I attended a viewing of John Woo's classic film, Bullet in the Head. As host, Colin Geddes, said in his introduction, this 35mm cut of the film was of the utmost rare; on top of it essentially being an unauthorized screening (consent was attempted, however, the owner of this cut is no longer an operating company...) it was also one of a number of cuts of the film with alternate endings - Colin himself did not know what version we were about to see. This is the exact type of film-going experience that cinephiles go wild for - and I have to thank a friend of mine (you know who you are) for informing me of this screening and pushing me to check it out.

Out of Woo's vast filmography, Bullet in the Head is his most personal. Unlike many of his other films that are largely lighter in nature, Bullet is autobiographical in many respects, reflecting on his upbringing in Hong Kong during a time of civil unrest, in part, due to the nearby ongoing Vietnam War. As Geddes said of the film, Bullet was not unlike Mean Streets or The Deer Hunter in its personal connection to the director, as well, in its epic scope, also reminiscent of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The film itself is about three best friends, Ben, Frank and Paul (great Anglicized names) who live in Hong Kong. Their lives are happy but also difficult and they quickly get wrapped up in business with local thugs. After a fight gone wrong, the three friends are forced to flee Hong Kong for their safety and they end up in Vietnam, a place, as they have heard from others, where you can make something of yourself. However, as one might anticipate, due to the ongoing war, Vietnam is a volatile and dangerous place to be in and the friends once again get wrapped up in criminal activity and also the brutality of the war itself. Over the journey, all three of them are tested like never before and none come out unscathed.

I have to admit that I have not seen a lot of older Chinese films. The shifting tones that are present throughout Bullet may be jarring for inexperienced viewers like me, however, once you acclimate to the jumps between levity and humour, darkness and the constant action, there is a lot to take away from this film. As well, due to the specific 35mm cut there were a number of audio/editing issues - but none that were attributable to the film itself in any way. Yes, this is still very much a John Woo film, and though there are some genuinely brutal and difficult-to-watch scenes, there is the constant stream of balls-to-the-walls action involving kung-fu, gunplay and plenty of explosions throughout, similar to the rest of the director's filmography. Bullet in the Head is an intense but rewarding experience. It is not easily accessible (emotionally or practically-speaking) but for those that are fans of John Woo or would like to watch a classic Chinese action/drama, Bullet in the Head would be an excellent choice to go for. 

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