Reviewed by: ryan Date: 11/21/1999 Summary: Love and Death on the Edge (1999) When you watch an exciting Hong Kong action movie, have you ever thought about the stuntmen behind the scenes? Maybe you have seen them before the end credits of Jackie CHAN films and have watched them get hurt. However, who can really understand their actual pain? James HA, who first joined the industry as a stuntman, has made the life of such a professional as the focus of his first B&S directing effort, 'Love and Death on the Edge.' HO Tung (WAN Yeung-ming) is a stuntman. His job places him constantly on the edge of death. Since getting married, his wife, Cindy (SZE Yi-lin), urges him to switch careers. The birth of a child adds to his pressures, and he finally gets another job as an assistant in a nightclub owned by a triad head. However, the nature of his work remains dangerous, and he has to fight with other gang members from time to time. Finally, his wife can no longer tolerate the fact that HO does not have a normal occupation, and they break up. To make matters even worse, HO learns that he has cancer at a well-developed stage, and he decides to commit suicide on his birthday. He goes to the rooftop of an apartment building and plans to jump as the police attempt to save him . . . The purpose the movie is to show us the feeling of stuntmen behind the scenes. On one hand, they face danger when they were working. On the other hand, they must contend with the day-to-day pressure from their families and those around them. The movie presents these issues with flashbacks of HO's difficulties with his wife Cindy, his reactions after being used by those around him, the love between him and his daughter, and the friendship he shares with his friend, James (James HA). The film succeeds in showing the viewer the different dimensions of Tung's life. Though the production as a whole is simple, the portion of the movie presenting HO and James filming one action sequence is very good. The two are professional enough to give audience a glimpse into the real work of stuntmen, and this scene truly sustains the realism of the film. However, the movie could have been much better. The sore points here are the low production values. The blood used looks incredibly unrealistic, and anyone can tell it is fake. Additionally, the set decorations are simplistic. Some of the acting and dialogue also should have been better. For example, the rooftop exchange between HO and the policewoman trying to talk him down is somewhat lame. They should have made the dialogue more sharp to give a better atmosphere to present HO's bitter story. The appearance of James at the movie's conclusion also fails to perform its function. The scene during which both James and HO cry should be a deep, emotional moment, but the audience at the screening during which I was present laughed at the sight of saliva dripping from James' mouth from time to time. To sum up, 'Love and Death on the Edge' is a movie about the professional and private life of a stuntman. As the director comes from this field, he is able to provide an appropriate setting for the movie. I appreciated his intentions, but the movie would have been more successful with better production values and dialogue.