My Heart is That Eternal Rose - Review

The Hong Kong New Wave beginning in the late 70’s spawned some of the greatest modern Hong Kong directors. Tsui Hark is the name that immediately springs to mind, a genius director responsible for some of the best and most off-the-wall films of the last thirty years. There were other directors whose names as not as well known, but whose contributions were just as important. One of these is Patrick Tam. He began his work in television before moving into film like many of his peers. Perhaps his most famous film, and one of his earliest, is The Sword. This fantastical visually inspired swordplay pic set new standards for high art in the wuxia genre. Into the eighties Tam made one of his (criminally) least well known films My Heart is That Eternal Rose in 1988. This film takes as its base the HK gunplay genre, which was incredibly popular at the time due to the success of John Woo’s masterpiece A Better Tomorrow. Despite sticking to some of the formulas of those films, My Heart is That Eternal Rose is born of the new wave in visual style, characterisation and heart. The unique fusion of new wave sensibilities and the Hong Kong style of action are superbly realised, alongside magnificent performances. This achievement can be attributed to Tam, but also another famous name: cinematographer Christopher Doyle Doyle is best known due to his work with Hong Kong (and now international) cinema’s arthouse genius director Wong Kar Wai, on such films as Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. Before Wong had started to make his own films he served an apprenticeship as a writer, with one notable project being Patrick Tam’s Final Victory. In fact My Heart is That Eternal Rose was released a year before Wong’s debut, As Tears Go By. Tam was something of a mentor to Wong, and gave Doyle some of his first DOP jobs. As time went on Wong returned the favour, as Tam’s directorial career stalled. Tam served as editor on Days of Being Wild, and contributed to Wong’s run of art house masterpieces. While Wong’s films have no real precedent in Hong Kong or international film, Tam’s are directly out of the Hong Kong new wave, and My Heart is That Eternal Rose is no exception.

The film begins by introducing the two main characters Lap (Joey Wang) and Rick (Kenny Bee). They are here portrayed as naïve and innocent as can be, making their later transformations all the more exciting, if a tad unvelivable. Lap’s father Cheung (Kwan Hoi San, Uncle Hoi from Hard Boiled) is a retired triad who is forced by his old partner Shing to take part in the trafficking of an illegal immigrant. Rick is asked to be the driver. Things go awry as a bent cop involved in the scheme wants more cash. An accident causes the immigrant to be shot by the cop, and Rick intervenes to kill the cop before he does the same to Lap’s father. Rick must flee to the Philippines, cutting short the burgeoning romance between him and Lap. To help her father, Lap becomes the mistress of Godfather Shen (veteran kung fu movie star Chan Wai Man), a notable triad leader. Six years pass, and Lap now has her own driver, Cheung (a fresh-faced Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) with whom she forms a close bond. Rick is now a hitman, and by chance accepts a job in Hong Kong to assassinate Godfather Shen’s rat partner. Lap and Rick meet again (by chance) and want to leave together, but Godfather Shen is of course in the way. Cheung tries to help them, and they get away but Lap can’t leave Cheung to die. Who will survive? Watch the blood-soaked climax to find out.

As can be seen with this film and many Hong Kong films in general, there is a reliance on chance to drive the narrative. This may seem short-sighted and formulaic; but when backed up by tight pacing, glorious visuals and romantic believable performances it can be forgiven. In terms of villainous performances, Chan Wai Man does a good job with little screen time, conveying the calm on the outset yet violent intensity of his character. The real surprise here is The Master Killer himself Gordon Liu as Shen’s henchman Li. He gives a superbly sleazy but slightly comic performance, from the first words his character says, and reaches a gloriously gory demise.
As the film progresses the triangular relationship between Lap, Rick and Cheung becomes the underlying backbone of the film. Joey Wang here shows there is more to her than good looks, conveying Lap’s character development from proud, naïve waif to strong experienced woman superbly. Wang at the time was known more for her roles in fantasies, the most famous being A Chinese Ghost Story. Here the departure in terms of acting styles serves her well. Kenny Bee puts in another powerful turn, balancing the romantic and machismo aspects of his character well. Bee was known for his work with new wave director Ann Hui, and his transition from those more arthouse parts to the relatively generic role of Rick is well realised. The romance between the two is believable, but it is the performance of Tony Leung that lifts the film to new romantically charged heights. He deservedly won a Golden Horse (Hong Kong’s Oscars) for best supporting actor for the film, and the deep emotion that is his trademark is delivered unreservedly. His character is in love with Lap, and the emotional pull this creates is very strong. This is achieved with some beautiful visual symbolism, which can be credited to Tam and to co-cinematographer David Chung, but in the main Christopher Doyle.

Doyle is an anomaly, being the first foreigner to carve out a career as DOP on many Hong Kong and Chinese film projects. His sensibilities are perfect for the hybrid nature of Hong Kong film making, and even from the beginning this is evident in the masterful use of visual symbolism and atmospheric lighting of My Heart is That Eternal Rose. In the opening scene the lighting is high contrast, with soft focus and bright colours in the interior of the bar and very dark outside. This creates a slight dreamy haze to the atmosphere, and a shot of Lap outside on the beach is green tinged and unusually beautiful.

The relationship that Lap has with four men (Rick, Godfather Shen, Li and Cheung) is given more depth by the use of symbolism. In the scene where Lap goes to ask Shen to help her father, there is a manga-esque angle with Lap’s face in close up in the left of frame, while Shen is in the background watching her, her having not seen him and talking to Li. Here in one shot the relationship between Shen and Lap and Li and Lap is given extra significance; Shen sees her as a possession, and does care for her given his want to take her out of her strife. She sees him as a way to save her father. Li is seen as nothing to her, intensified by the fact that she thinks he is Shen, and he is not seen in this most unusual and eye-catching shot. In a later scene when Lap has become Shen’s mistress, there is a shot with him in close up in the right of frame while she is reflected in the left in a mirror. This portrays the reality of their relationship; he cannot possess her heart, as it belongs to Rick, only a reflection. Even later as the three main characters are hiding out together Lap comes into shot through broken glass, to lie with Rick. On the other side is Cheung, framed by the glass. This conveys the breaking of Cheungs heart, and foretells the fate of all three. The visual trademarks are here from Doyle, who uses similar techniques in his films with Wong Kar Wai.

For the action fans, those expecting intricately choreographed gunfights will not be let down, but they are certainly not of the level of John Woo and Ringo Lam. Early violence is gory and to the point; the end battle builds up brilliantly. What stands out most is the use of Peckinpah-esque slow mo cutaways, which make real time go right out of the window. This technique suits the inexorable fates of the three leads, plus it looks really cool.

My Heart is That Eternal Rose is definitely up there on lists of the greatest 80’s Hong Kong movies; because of the fact it is a genre piece that deviates from the template of the numerous Better Tomorrow rip offs made at the time. The visuals are restlessly inspired and plotting is tight and suspenseful, with action occurring at just the right points in the narrative. Patrick Tam’s new wave credentials create an original look and feel to the film, and certainly the crew members on board help this. Criticism can be aimed at the continual reliance on chance and difference in tone of some scenes, but these are minor faults. A mention should also go to the title song, a mournful ballad sung by Joey Wang in the film. Definitely one to buy.