Whenever I find a Hong Kong action film from the ’80s or early ’90s, my first reaction is to ponder if the VHS tape version once sat on the shelves of Dave’s Videodrome in Carrboro, NC. This was the only videostore in my area that had an owner cool enough to offer a deep selection of films from Asia. The only downside of the place was that it was an over two-hour roundtrip from my house. I barely was able to rent the major titles from Hong Kong during my trips to this cinematic shrine. Was A Moment of Romance part of the astonishing collection? Seeing how the movie featured Ringo Lam (City on Fire), Johnnie To (The Heroic Trio) and Wong Jing (God of Gamblers) in producer roles, it had to be there. I rented those three tapes. The great news is you don’t need to travel to Carrboro to have this tale of loving teenagers in the trouble Hong Kong underworld.
Wah Dee (Infernal Affairs‘ Andy Lau) is a young hoodlum known for his expert motorcycle and driving skills. He’s party of a Hong Kong Triad known as The Brotherhood. The underground organization needs to raise a little cash for the Brotherhood’s legal funds. Instead of hosting a bake sale or a dance-a-thon, they stage a major jewelry heist. Wah Dee is the getaway driver. While he waits outside during a rather nasty robbery, the cops pull up in a police van. Instead of playing it cool, Wah Dee smashes into the van and lures them away from the jewelry store. He swings around and grabs his Brotherhood members and away they go. They split up, but Wah finds himself chased by the cops. When it looks like he’ll be busted, he grabs a hostage on the street and hijacks a car. Jo-Jo Huen (Eat Drink Man Woman‘s Jacklyn Wu) is in a bit of shock at being abducted. Once they allude the cops, Wah takes her to the meet up location with the other gang members. He tells Jo-Jo to stay hidden, but she looks out the window at the wrong time. The other gang members want Wah to kill her since she can identify all of them. Wah doesn’t it have it in him to dispose of her like the second getaway car. When she has a chance to identify Wah to the cops, she protects him like he did to her with the gang members. But how long can their relationship last since her parents don’t want her tied up with a gangster. They are moving her to Canada. Wah is having a lot of issues with his gang including a new leadership structure. Things aren’t looking good for their outlaw love.
A Moment of Romance is a rarity with teen love being mixed with Stockholm Syndrome. This is not exactly the “how I met your father” story that warms a child’s heart. There might be the initial sticking point of: How could she fall so hard for her kidnapper? Andy Lau is the kind of heartthrob that makes this tricky situation click. You don’t doubt Jo-Jo would be gaga for the bad boy. He looks like she could change him for the better.
Director Benny Chan (Who Am I?), his crew and his producers go all out with the action scenes. Early in the film when Wah Dee shows up at a rally where the kids are having an outrageous party. Two guys are racing trucks with women dangling on top. This all looks like fun until one of the trucks wrecks and the girl goes flying. She goes face first through a car window. It’s not a pretty site. This allows us to fear for Jo-Jo when she’s on top of the truck later in the film. They also get the romance right such as the motorcycle ride at the end with Jo-Jo in a bridal dress and Wah in a white tux.
A Moment of Romance is the perfect date movie compromise for when you want Hong Kong action and your companion wants something a bit more emotional. This has giant explosions and tender kisses. Now I want to take a date over to Dave’s Videodrome.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out all the details of Hong Kong at the end of the ’80s. The audio is Cantonese LPCM 2.0. The levels balance the action and the songs on the soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng is once more adds so much to watching the film as he not only fills us in on background of crew and cast, but cultural activities on the screen. He explains the Ghost Festival when people are setting papers on fire in one scene. He even points out a Chow Yun Fat “cameo.” We get to find out how Andy Lau and Johnnie To had a falling out during this film.
Benny Chan (21:22) is an archival audio interview from 2016. He goes into his career and how he learned to direct on the set. He got his start doing TV shows before Johnnie To brought him over to feature films. He gets into what his famous co-producers brought to A Moment of Romance. There’s a photo of him in what appears to be his office. Benny passed away in 2020.
In Love and Danger: HK Cinema Through A Moment of Romance (25:59) is a visual essay from David Desser. He deals with elements of A Moment of Romance and how they touched upon earlier Hong Kong films. We find out a bit about films that involved Ringo Lam. Desser gets into the Heroic Bloodshed era that involved John Woo. Along with how Tarantino borrowed quite a bit from Lam’s City on Fire for Reservoir Dogs, he brings up that Ben Affleck’s The Town has similarities to A Moment of Romance.
Trailer (4:10) gives us a taste of the youthful action and romance.
Booklet with photos and Essays from Sean Gilman and Tony Williams.
Radiance presents A Moment of Romance. Directed by Benny Chan. Screenplay by James Yuen. Starring Andy Lau, Jacklyn Wu, Ng Man-tat, Wong Kwong-leung, Chu Tit-wo, Lau Kong, Lam Chung, Sandra Lang, Anna Ng, Bonnie Wong and Yuen Bun. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 22, 2023.
