Protégé (2007)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Protagonist Nick is a Hong Kong police officer but has never been inside a court or a police station; he has spent his career deep undercover. It has taken eight years but now he has the evidence to bring down Lin Quin, AKA The Banker. However his bosses would rather he remained undercover; he has gained Lin Quin's trust and is being groomed to take over the business; if he remains in place he will learn who is higher up the chain. Nick has never really thought about those who use the drugs but learns just how bad it is for them when he befriends his neighbour; a young mother who has left her junkie husband but is struggling to break the habit she picked up while with him… she tells Nick that she only took heroin to prove it was easy to quit but soon learnt that it wasn't easy at all.Having seen a few Hong Kong crime dramas I was expecting full on action like that found in John Woo's films; this however is quite different. Protégé is a more thoughtful film showing us the isolation of our protagonist as he works to bring down the people who are his closest friends. At no point is heroin glamorised; those who use it are wretched, slaves to their addiction who will do whatever it takes to get their fix. While this isn't an action film there are moments of violence, some of which are quite shocking although none of it is as shocking as the sight of a dead addict crawling with rats… a truly disturbing scene. The cast do a fine job; Daniel Wu was solid as Nick and Hong Kong film veteran Andy Lau is great as Lin Quin; depicting him as a businessman whose business happens to be illegal rather than as a cartoonish villain. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes their thrillers gritty rather than action packed.These comments are based on watching the series in Cantonese with English subtitles.

An excellent portrayal of an undercover cop working to bring an end to a huge drug network in Hong Kong.The film gives three sides of the story and shows the viewer a glimpse into the world of the drug-lord, the undercover cop and the addict.All three main characters (Andy Lau, David Wu and Zhang Jingchu) gives an excellent and flawless performance. Where does one draw the line between business and drug smuggling, crime prevention and aiding crime, addiction and family? Is David Wu's character the protégé or are the addicts the protégé? At the end of the day, drugs destroys everything. One could turn a blind eye, but everything comes round in a circle.

Ordinary development, good research on today's drug-dealing, satisfactory (only) acting, a just so-so plot plus a perfunctorily didactic story, nevertheless, I still recommend this as a light Sunday afternoon amuse-bouche.We are living in a world of mixed, confusing values. What is right? What is wrong? Lin Quin is an extremely careful businessman. He has a clean family and clean life (he doesn't even smoke, not to mention drug). He is very clear-minded to the point of having a frozen heart without much feeling for the others. He knows, very rationally, all the tricks and danger of drug and drug-dealing. He knows, super-sensibly, the wants and behaviour of the drug consumers. Trafficking drug to him is only a means of accumulating wealth regardless whether it is harmful or evil. He even makes an analogy between cigarette and drug. According to the world system and world values, he is correct: as there is a demand, I supply. As the buyers (drug users) get what they want and I get what (the money) I want, we are both happy. Isn't that the world we are living in? Nick's remark at the opening and closing of the film somehow is a futile didactic statement. "For long, I didn't understand why people take drug.... actually it's all because of emptiness (loneliness). And, which is more horrible? Loneliness or drug? I really can't tell." No philosophy class but loneliness kills more, for sure, more destructive than drugs.What touches my heart is the ending. Nick promises to continue his duty as a special agent (undercover). When loneliness comes, he also intends to take drug but at last his salvation is brought by "innocence" (personified by Jane's little daughter) who dumps the syringe for him. Only when we come to purity and innocence, goodness and kindness can we have a way out from evil.

Boosting some of Hong Kong's film industry biggest with producer Peter Chan (Perhaps Love) and director Derek Yee (C'est La Vie and One Night in Mongkok), "Protégé" looks set to become this Hong Kong biggest film this Chinese New Year.The Protégé here is Nick (Daniel Wu), trained to take over Jong's (Andy Lau) heroin trafficking business, but is in fact a police officer. His inner conflict is between the loyalty towards his 'teacher', and duty towards his job and justice. Things get more complicated when he falls in love with a heroin-addict (Zhang Jingchu), forced to detriment by her husband (Louis Koo).The story of an undercover police would remind many of "Infernal Affairs", especially when both stars Andy Lau. The difference lies in its subtlety. While there are still police chase scenes and fights, the focus of the film is on the character development more than its actions.Daniel has proved his acting abilities in One Night In Mongkok. Though he is playing the lead role in "Protégé", his character lacks of a very distinct quality to showcase his acting skills. This is so for Andy Lau's 'baddie' role as well, and you can't put across strongly how you should feel for him. Anita Yuen has very little screen time, perhaps due to the fact she was six months pregnant, and there could be more chemistry between her and Andy Lau.The scene stealer is the refreshing China actress Zhang Jingchu who breathes an air of vulnerability and frenzy as a woman forced by circumstances. We should expect more from her as she moves on to a Hollywood in Rush Hour 3. Louis Kook, in stained teeth and tattered clothes, changes his image successfully playing her abusive husband.Starting off slowly, the movie picks up after moving to the Golden Triangle, where audience are treated to the eye-opening sight of heroin plantations and produce."Protégé" may not be adrenalin pumping or mass audience entertainment, as director Derek Yee probably wanted to weave in a social message in a subtle and restrained manner. The last scene was enough for me to understand the story, though you wished he had pushed the movie forward a little more.http://themovieclub.blogspot.com