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天才與白痴 (1997)
Ah Fai, the Dumb


Reviewed by: mpongpun
Date: 09/13/2003

The story is about an idiot guy named Fai (Eric Kot) who becomes a genius, and then shortly afterwards reverts to being a idiot again. All around, typical of a United Filmmaker’s production, the flick features decent acting and good production values. I felt the script needed some tightening up, because if somebody falls up a tall building, they don’t get smart, they get dumb-er. Anyways, I thought UFO films targeted the “adult” audience, not the kiddy land crowd, because this is what this film is. Maybe the guys at UFO had a “Rain man” moment? I don’t know. Nevertheless, Eric Kot plays the role of Ah Fai damn well. It’s like second nature to him. Hell, in every movie he is in, it seems like he is playing Ah Fai. The flick features Samuel Hui's song from THE LAST MESSAGE, along with having the exact same Chinese title. Nevertheless, this flick is nothing similar to the Hui Brother's work. As a matter of fact, this flick seems more in line with a social drama with a message to tell more than anything else.


Reviewed by: jfierro
Date: 12/21/1999

Pure drivel about mentally challenged Ah Fai and the Temple Streetresidents who care for him after his mother leaves to marry a wealthy man in the U.S. After Ah Fai accidentally falls off the roof, he not only has a normal IQ, but he gains powers of prognastication, becoming famous all over Hong Kong. Of course, this changes his relationship with his former friends. I know the critics think Raymond To is just the greatest scriptwriter, but I find that he writes really overblown dramas that throw in unnecessary plot devices just to make an already obvious point. And Eric Kot has never been accused of being a restrained actor. Put these two together and you get Eric so over-the-top and unbelievable that I was actually rooting for his character to die. Only Law Koon-Lan as the long-suffering mother of Ah Fai manages to outshine the material. I don't know why she is always relegated to these thankless supporting character parts. Maybe somebody will write an intelligent script just for her so we can skip all this useless melodrama in favor of a real story.


Reviewed by: shelly
Date: 12/09/1999

An ambitious movie, that has the feel of a UFO production (good acting, fine production values, thoughtful script, "adult" target audience). A softer, nostalgic version of Heaven Can't Wait. But, despite the brilliant production values (cinematographer Tony Cheung shot and lit the film as if it were a Ching Siu-tung action/fantasy: all attention-grabbing tracking shots, breathtaking pans and zooms, hyper-active colour schemes), and a Raymond To script that seemed sharper, less cloyingly cliched than usual, I wasn't convinced. Eric Kot didn't establish enough of a character -- a sense of a personality behind his sweet "idiot's" mannerisms -- in the first section of the film, so his transformation into hard-hearted clarivoyant genius failed make enough of an impact. And the yo-yo-ing plot veered precipitously towards hokey, towards the end. An uneven film, with just enough to admire that it left me disappointed, wanting more.

Reviewer Score: 7