Chinese-language ‘One Night Only’ blends genres effectively

Part romance, part crime drama, part action film and part tear-stained melodrama with just a touch of comedy, the Chinese film One Night Only would seem to be too ambitious for its own good. That’s especially the case since this is the first feature from young Taiwanese director Matt Wu.

But all the strands come together in this beautifully shot, involving tale of two people whose love blossoms under the hothouse lights of danger and imminent death in a neon-lit, fictional metropolis called Liberty City (it was actually filmed in Bangkok).

Gao Ye (Aaron Kwok) is a down-on-his-luck, low-life gambler who seems to owe half the town money. When a prostitute named Mo Mo (Zishan Yang) comes into his life one night carrying a wad of cash, he sees a way out of his predicament. He talks her into letting him take it to the roulette tables, saying it would be a win-win for both of them. Well, not quite.

That’s how they end up on the run, betting on a vicious, underground MMA cage fight and then forced at gunpoint to take part in a death race in which a blindfolded Gao Ye has to race at high speeds through the streets of the city with Mo Mo as his co-pilot. This dazzling scene alone, a nod to classic Hollywood car chases (Gao Ye’s car is vintage, left-hand-drive American muscle), is enough to make Wu someone to watch.

But what really makes One Night Only work is the chemistry between Kwok and Yang, because, despite the gangsters and guns and the prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold cliche, it’s a surprisingly effective and moving love story.

In Mandarin with English subtitles

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This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Chinese-language ‘One Night Only’ blends genres effectively."