Retro Review: Chicken & Duck Talk (1988) #Hongkongcinema

Chicken & Duck Talk (Gai Tung Aap Gong)
1988
Cast: Michael Hui, Ricky Hui, Sylvia Chang, Lowell Lo, Lawrence Ng 
Genre: Comedy
Hong Kong Box Office Gross: over $29 million HK

Plot: Old Hui runs a restaurant specialising in roast duck. His secret duck recipe is very tasty, but customers and staff alike have to put up with the filthy shop & Hui's cost-cutting way of doing business. When ''Danny's Fried Chicken'', an American-style fast food restaurant, opens up across the street, Hui receives a rude awakening & is forced to up his game to compete. He might even have to supply clean chopsticks. 

'Classic Cantonese Hong Kong Comedy Highlighting Culinary Differences Between Western & Chinese Restaurants That Is Worth Seeing'

Hong Kong comedy films usually don't translate well outside of the country (or so that is to be believed), but Chicken & Duck is at times a side-splitting effort that deserves wider attention from well, everyone. Though Michael Hui's culinary farce is set in the Chinese context - or more specifically within the Cantonese Chinese context- the film, in general, can be easily understood, even if you are not Chinese. I've always been told or led to believe that trans-lingual movies, especially comedies and comedies that deal with cross- cultural themes and social situations that are set in Asia, likewise, will not appeal to Westerners or non-Chinese/Asians and that all they are interested in is seeing two guys beat each other up through kung fu flicks.

Well, Chicken & Duck Talk, aka Chicken & Fast Food is a film I'd recommend to anyone, particularly those of whom are interested in Hong Kong cinema, besides the usual martial arts flicks. Another deciding factor for me was it dealt with the theme of food, and the Chinese - as many of you will know- (we) are widely renowned for its cuisine through the proliferation of takeouts and restaurants, in and around China towns and within Hong Kong itself. 

This film operates on the lines as an observational commentary and looks at the differences between traditional Chinese restaurants, of whom are going up against more established overseas - related Western fast food businesses, whilst infusing comedy, humour and traits in slapstick and witty banter. Michael Hui plays the owner & chef of a Chinese restaurant that serves roast duck (the ones you see in Chinese restaurants in Chinatown) amongst other food items, who soon finds his business is under threat when 'Danny Chicken' - a KFC -like food joint opens its front doors and begins to draw in crowds. Especially the younger demographic. Though it doesn't help matters when the Chinese restaurant is badly run, unhygienic and his disgruntled staff becomes increasingly restless. 

You have your McDonalds, Burger King and KFC serving American fast food, and then on the other end of the spectrum, you have local Chinese food serving rice, noodles amongst other food items that aren't burgers, fries and fried chicken. Which is interesting, given that almost 30 years on, Mickey D's, KFC are nowadays located in many parts of Hong Kong. This also shows that like America and Britain, Hong Kong has seen its proliferation of fast food restaurants. There is the ongoing battle between ordinary people going up against chain stores that try to put the traditional businesses out of business. And with all of these social themes, comes the comedy that underpins it and the comedy is brilliantly conceived. It is feel-good, hearty, silly most of the time but it still raises a smile. It's also fast-paced and as silly & witty as the humour is, Chicken & Duck Talk portrays the characters humanely; thus allowing us to understand and resonate with them. You have two people dressing up as mascots trying to sell their menu items trying to outsmart the other, you have infested rats appearing in and around the restaurant that they are trying to conceive away from the visiting health inspectors. & you have your domestic arguments and conflicts when they end up in a slanging match with other family members. 

Hong Kong cinema, in general, has been known for action movies, and more so its kung fu movies - your Jet Lis and Jackie Chans- and so when the likes of Chicken & Duck are released, it is only Hong Kongers who are more familiar with these movies. Although if you have watched either of Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer, the comedy is virtually on the similar lines to that. In fact, Hui was originally known as the king of Hong Kong comedy, up until Chow took on that mantle. One can see Chicken & Duck Talk being a sardonic commentary on Chinese culture trying to modernise itself in order to challenge the so-called big boys of the fast-food trade. And that comes with its challenges: Hui emphasises that for all of the traditions and being Chinese/Hong Kong-ese in its food, no one will go to your restaurant if you don't go to lengths to modernise it. 

Interestingly, Chicken & Duck Talk was hugely popular in Hong Kong when it was released in the late 1980s: and was produced during Hong Kong's film industry heydeys, spearheaded by production companies such as Golden Harvest. It was also the highest grossing HK film in 1988. Even with the film being almost 30 years old, the fast food themes, the social messages and social comedy still resonate well today. 

Final Verdict:

Though the story is simple and straightforward, the way this is conceived within the movie itself is what makes it so humourous and watchable throughout. 

Hong Kong cinema is more than just chop-socky, kick-ass beat em' up offerings: it has its fair share of comedies too, and through the interesting premise and funny writing, Chicken & Duck Talk is a film that deserves a much wider audience. 

This slice of screwball, satirical, Canto-comedy is a harmless culinary delight that is so '80s - and yet its themes still resonate and are relevant in today's context. Especially in light of the big business vs small business battle that takes place. It is also extremely entertaining, watchable, with humour that people can easily appreciate in doses.

If you are interested in Hong Kong films, beyond that of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Chicken & Duck Talk is a more than worthy consideration and recommendation. 




Overall:

Retro Review: Hard Boiled (1992) #Hongkongcinema

Hard Boiled (Lat Sau San Taam)
1992
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung, Chiu- Wai, Anthony Wong
Genre: Action
Hong Kong Box Office Gross: over $19 million 

Plot: A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the ringleaders, he joins forces with an undercover cop, who is posing as a gangster hit-man. They use all means of excessive force to find them 

'Hong Kong Action Cult Classic'

Watching Hard Boiled, this is a pure unadulterated action fest that lets rip with ballistic and exhilarating gunplay from all quarters. Funnily enough, I'd never seen it before until recently after reading all the positive comments and critical appraisal, and I have to say, this is a phenomenal action movie from one of the greats, John Woo. It never became a bigger and viable commercial success in its native country as it deserves to be, but thanks to the release of Face/Off, Hard Target and Broken Arrow, it literately opened the door for Western audiences to take a shot at this film and to give it a chance to see what all the fuss was about with regards to Woo as an action filmmaker, and thankfully it worked. Hard Boiled reigned as a critical cult hit and much to rave reviews.  

Strangely for a Hong Kong Chinese film, there is spoken and written English and a lot of dialogue and characters speaking for an action film. 

There are three big major shoot-out scenes: one in the tea room at the beginning, one in a warehouse on motorbikes and the last one in the hospital. The last one is extremely long, yet so engrossing and action-packed and suspenseful. The story is highly gripping right from the start, the action sequences are incredible and just relentless, & for all of the action and though a lot of people won't care for the story, I do for this movie, & this was really intriguing & intense in places, with twists thrown in. 

The tearoom scene where the guys blast each other with guns is reminiscent of the scene in Face-Off between Nicolas Cage and John Travolta and in watching this movie I could see his influences from it in Face-Off and Hard Target. Hard Boiled is unashamedly over-the-top in its gun violence: like all of Woo's movies for the exception of Hard Target, it features less of the Kung Fu martial arts fighting scenes that one would expect in say a Jackie Chan and Jet Li movie, and thus operates more so like a standardised U.S action movie with lots of ammo and guns. 

The narrative serves as a means of support for the action scenes and though a lot of people may not care for the spoken Cantonese dialogue and may not feel it's of interest, for me personally, and being a Canto speaker, it's good to hear that dialogue and understanding the emotions and feelings of the characters. I feel it's worth cherishing movies such as Hard Boiled, Police Story to name but many as they were movies that promoted the usage of Cantonese, and not just being known for their violent action. Some may find the translated dialogue in English to be not as well interpreted as it is, depending on how you see it on screen. But if you can get over this hitch, then you will enjoy this movie for what it offers and achieves. 

But what it all boils down to - see what I did there - for Hard Boiled is the relentless, unscrupulous surge of action scenes; 99% of them involving firearms, that never seem to run out of steam. With some, or be it most action movies, there can be too much action that it suddenly becomes repetitive and tiresome, - yet here, this is an exception because the action is so varied from scene after scene; even with the characters using guns, it's never the same as the other. I'm not usually a fan of guns in real life, but here Woo makes the scenes look balletic-like and not too overly gratuitous. Yet it's so over-the-top, yet fluid in its movement, it is visually stylistic. Also, the performances are excellent throughout and particularly from stars, Chow-Yun Fat and Tony Leung. Chow has never been greater here, probably since The Killer and had it not been for him, his co-star Leung would have run away with this movie. His turn as a cop whose loyalties have been tested kind of reminds me in a way of Matt Damon's character in The Departed. Which was a Hollywood remake of a Hong Kong movie. Though eventually, he sides with Fat's character, Tequilla but as the film progresses, it doesn't go as well as planned. 

Whilst Chow-Yun Fat has had moderate success in the U.S with his Stateside efforts, unfortunately, he hasn't had the type of impact or success that Jackie Chan or even Jet Li have built up, over the decades in America. I think this is down to the movies he chooses to do, but in addition, the Western efforts don't really take advantage of his star power that he has in Hong Kong and further utilise his talents. & that is a shame because he is a great actor and as an Asian action movie star, he could've been the next in line to be as great as his contemporaries in Jackie, Jet Li and Bruce Lee. 

Its trademark ''Gun-fu'' sequences are what makes this film so memorable in the eyes of fans who appreciate it. And for all the controversy and criticism about guns in general, Hard Boiled doesn't glorify gun violence or tries to do so. But merely the violence serves its purpose as a plot device in an action movie, and in this movie especially. It's like seeing a modern-day Hong Kong Western film come to life.  

Hard Boiled is a violent-yet entertaining showcase of John Woo's directorial efforts that have had such a resounding and even profounding influence on other Western action movies, rather more so than for its box-office success and critical acclaim in Hong Kong. But for the somewhat weak leading antagonist character, as well played as he was by Anthony Wong, there is also a tonal style in Hard Boiled that goes much more deeper than it comes across, visually. It has complex and well-crafted characterisations that are ably supported by great performances, all- round. Though it is known for its gun scenes, there is more to Hard Boiled than just that and being your standard, middle-of-the-road ''shoot-em-up'' affair. 

Final Verdict:

Hard Boiled appropriately earns its status as a cult classic and thus, its legacy set an unprecedented standard in action movies in not just Hong Kong and Asia specifically, but globally in general that a few of them have managed to achieve. & in one of the greatest directors of this genre in John Woo, coupled with great leads in Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung and an equally great supporting cast, after seeing this film from beginning to end, I could totally understand and see his influences in the likes of Broken Arrow, Hard Target and Face/Off. I'd have loved it had he directed Con Air. Undoubtedly, he would have brought a lot more to that movie, which I also enjoyed. 

This movie clearly has everything you want and expect in an action movie: violence, charismatic protagonists, outrageous and OTT action and unbelievable stunts. The bloodshed here is on par - if not as extreme as with anything you have seen in say 1987's Robocop and Reservoir Dogs: it is that gory. Combined with a great cast, impressive performances that hold up and are as good as the action sequences themselves, Hard Boiled is an action movie tailor-made for action movie fans that one would be missing out on, just by overlooking or ignoring this gem.


Overall:

Cantonese Isn't Dead: The Argument For It

It impresses me to see people speaking Chinese, be it Mandarin or Cantonese. Regardless of whether they are Chinese or not. Such as Canadian Dashan, who is the most famous White guy in China and the most famously 'more- Chinese- than- Chinese' foreigner in China.

I can only speak Cantonese, but not very well. It is when I listen to someone speak it, do I understand what they are saying, even if my spoken Cantonese isn't that great. My sister's Cantonese is far better than mines, -which is sad for me I know-, but I will continue trying to get better at speaking it. Whereas my Mandarin is non-existent. I can't speak or understand it. I consider my first language to be English, as I am British- born and I have been using English for all my life. I can speak, read and write English. I converse with my siblings (who also converse in Cantonese to my parents) in English as they were also born in the UK, as well as to my sister-in-law who is Chinese and speaks Mandarin, but speaks English really well. My mother, who was born in China speaks Cantonese and Mandarin, the same thing with my father, who was born in Hong Kong, although he is more fluent in Cantonese. He can also speak and communicate in English.  

For me, Cantonese sounds more fluid, expressive, smoother, whereas Mandarin sounds choppy, rough, and in a way, annoying in a high pitched tone. It has 8 or 9 tones compared to Mandarin, which only has 4 tones. I would also say that with Cantonese with the pronunciation of words, some of them do sound similar to English, even though the meaning is not the same. Likewise, the word 'gai' means chicken in Cantonese but as written and pronounced as 'gay' in English, of course, this refers to either a person's sexual orientation or that they are happy or jolly. 'Gai Dan' translates to egg in English: 'gai' >> chicken, Dan >> being egg. Eggs are hatched by chickens and with that you get 'gai dan'. 

Above: how to say and pronounce family members in Cantonese with English written pronunciation

The writing styles share similarities with Mandarin, but the similarities do end when it comes to its grammar and pronunciation. It is also argued that unlike Mandarin, written Cantonese does not have to mirror spoken word Cantonese. Because of this, written Cantonese text looks exactly the same as Mandarin text - yet verbal wise, it is pronounced differently. 

The Chinese government along with Hong Kong, should actively promote both Mandarin AND Cantonese as the main dialects or languages, whichever you want to call it. Not one over the other. And not by excluding Cantonese outright. 

Illustration by Pang Li/China Daily 

This mandatory enforcement of Mandarin in Guangdong speaking areas of China, as well as Hong Kong by the Chinese government makes me worry about the future of Cantonese - we need to preserve this dialect for future generations of Hong Kong based and overseas Chinese communities. It is a part of our culture and we just can't let it slip away. 

The widespread use of Cantonese outside of Hong Kong by American born, British born and Australian Born Chinese is still prominent today. Many of us bi-lingual British born, American, and Australian born Chinese grew up speaking Cantonese and English at home. And for Canadian Chinese, French as well; making them tri-lingual in Cantonese, English and French. Currently, there are 70-100 million Cantonese speakers around the world. 

Most British born Chinese have origins from Hong Kong (be it from one or both parents, who are originally from Hong Kong) when it was formerly a British colony up until 1997, which could explain why many of us claim Cantonese as our first or second language. 

And Cantonese is (supposedly) the main dialect of Hong Kong. Etymologist Dr Chen once 'claimed' in HK (Hong Kong) Magazine that Putongua - the official Chinese name for Mandarin- is not even a naturally evolved language, but a language imposed by the Chinese Communist Party. 

To underestimate the influence of the Chinese Cantonese culture is a grave mistake; the Chinese food served in restaurants around the globe in Chinatowns, is of the Canton variety. Many Chinese films and movies, especially those during the 1980s, were made in Hong Kong with spoken Cantonese. Today, overseas born Chinese still speak and converse with their elders in Cantonese. A language or dialect is only declared dead, when the populations of those people stop speaking it, altogether. It hasn't happened, and thankfully also. 

Whenever I go down to Chinatown in Central London, I see there are still Cantonese speaking waiters, shop assistants, alongside Mandarin speakers. 

During the time when China took over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997, Hong Kong with Cantonese still flourished, all in spite of being under Chinese rule. It may not be as widely spoken as it is these days, but as long as TV shows on TVB still air programmes in Cantonese, it is not going to disappear overnight.  

Speaking of TV stations and channels such as TVB, I would like to see more Cantonese -based TV channels available on digital satellite in the UK. Unfortunately in the UK, TVB Europe only exists as an online TV service, and not on Sky and digital TV platforms. Whilst it is a good idea to have an online TV service, many British Chinese and Chinese living in the UK access TV through their TV sets and digital set top boxes. We do have CCTV-9, Phoenix PCNE, but the content is mostly in Mandarin. In the US, they have TVB as a separate cable channel, in addition to ICN TV & Asia Television Home Channel. 

Directv in the US offers Cantonese and Mandarin TV packages, something that I wished we had in the UK too.  

China and Hong Kong are fighting a culture war - the dominance of Hong Kong in the 1980s and early 1990s produced movies resulted in the growing usage of Cantonese as a spoken dialect. China on the other hand with Mandarin, has been playing catch up, and they have in many respects, succeeded. 

Most linguists would argue that Cantonese is a language in itself; and in spite of people saying it is harder to grasp and learn in comparison to Mandarin, I just think it's an excuse used by certain people to support Mandarin and denounce Cantonese and its years of cultural history, altogether. And add to that argument, by further highlighting China's role in society, because they are a super power. That is why lots of people are championing Mandarin, whilst overlooking Cantonese. 

Why, you ask, learn and speak Cantonese, just because China has billions of people who speak Mandarin, compared to Hong Kong who only has over 7 million people?

I'd say you should learn, because many of us overseas born Chinese, for instance, speak Canto and it would be cool for us to converse and get to know each other through Canto.  

Like all languages and dialects, Cantonese is not that difficult and impossible to learn and understand, as long as you commit to it and practice and practice. The more you enjoy using it and speaking it, the easier it gets. As a native speaker, yes it's easier if you are Chinese and your parent/s is or are Hong Kong Chinese, because you pick it up from the day you first speak it to your parents or to other native Chinese people. 

Cantonese was the oldest dialect for thousands of years before Mandarin. It was widely spoken by millions of Chinese and used in many Chinese-based TV shows and movies. Some examples being Jackie Chan's Police Story and Big Trouble In Little China, years before Mandarin so why get rid of it? English has existed for centuries - yet nobody calls for it to be abolished, so why should it be any more different because it is Cantonese? But again, this is a super power-thing we are talking here. The UK and USA for instance are countries with enormous histories and pasts, and in spite of English - the UK used old English, whereas it appears that the U.S doesn't have an official language , English is the most widely spoken language. 

And China are going about it the wrong way by not giving people more choice and more options. Having only Mandarin as the only lingual choice, not to mention its total disregard shown towards Cantonese, just doesn't cut it for me and drives a bigger wedge in the Chinese community. Languages and dialects can and should co-exist alongside each other, that Cantonese and Mandarin can work alongside, despite the tonal differences. 

Yet even more unfortunate is that in Southern China, use of Cantonese in the media, by way of speaking and being used in newspapers, has been banned. Where else in the world would you have another country that bans a dialect/language and anyone and everyone is forbidden in speaking it, anywhere? That is just insane. 

A future without Cantonese, is virtually unthinkable; if it happens, an integral part of our Chinese culture would be gone - therefore, why can't it co-exist alongside Mandarin, because it should. 

Source: China Daily Mail