Slow Fade was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. Slow Fade is an excellent departure from the usual gangster driven movies of HK. The movie begins with Fin Cheung overdosing on heroine due to the death and loss of his girlfriend. In the process, he gets himself mugged by two passer-byers. Under the influence of the white godly liquid, he misinterprets this as a holy vision and tries to set his life straight from that point on. Where this leads is a twisting winding road of circumstance, friendship, redemption, love, consequence and betrayal. He tries to correct his life gone awry, with the company of his new interest Kim, but it seems that his past has a way of not wanting to let go. His past, in the form of his former friend and partner, Alex, brings him back into the world of crime and drugs. After an incident with Alex, Fin decides it’s time to leave yet again, unfortunately his past is inescapable. He would be tested and brought back full circle before his journey ends.

Daniel Chan uses new experimental “methods of dramatic structure and cinematography while employing modern visual technology such as ‘cross-processing’ developing positive film as negative to enhance the non-linear narrative which gives the film a special look and feel.” I’m not exactly sure what this really means, but I can honestly say that this film does have it’s moments of unique cinematography and some fantastic camera work. For example, there’s a part where this Japanese “cleaner” whips out his gun, and the camera follows him and the gun head-on. Take a look at some of the screen captures to see what I’m talking about. It looks very original, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like that before.

Acting is very spot on and believable. Ken Wong is definitely worth seeing as a doped up depressed guy down on his luck. I’ve never seen him in any other movies before Slow Fade, but if his acting is anything like it is in this movie, I look forward to seeing more of him. Josie Ho is decent in her role as the prostitute who befriends and helps out Fin in his time of depression. I liked Jimmy Wong as Fin’s longtime friend and enemy. He reminds me of a Goro Kishitani, in looks and personality. His appearance just screams “Look at me! I’m a badass!” Anyhow, I really liked Jimmy’s portrayal of Alex due to the fact that he made his character come alive.

Being such a music-whore, I loved this film’s soundtrack, with all its dramatic pieces and techno/trance driven tracks. The songs picked personally by the director fit each and every scene perfectly. It’s nice to see a HK movie devoid of the usual canto-pop music that plagues these movies. However, due to the lack of such music, the soundtrack never got any media circulation on the radio. In turn, this movie didn’t quite make a lot of waves. I think that’s perfectly fine though, because I can’t imagine this movie any with any other type of music.

In conclusion, Slow Fade is definitely worth a viewing. Rent it, buy it, just do yourself a favor and see it. It’s a great take on the Hong Kong drama/crime film genre. It’s got great action, drama, excellent camera work, and the soundtrack is also exceptional.