A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989)
"Ying hung boon sik III: Zik yeung ji gor" (original title)

Sure, it's not a crowd pleaser and exactly as enjoyable on a superficial level like Woo/Hark's previous good installments... this film has something Woo never had, and that's a very good idealistic, detailed but at the same time a complex screenplay that is also opening the door for many various interpretations of the viewer as far as characters beliefs and motivations go; very long spontaneous but also intense dramatic moments led sometimes by the three characters at the very same time, brilliantly structured moody cinematography and "many" distinct characters differing one from another with their own issues interconnected throughout the story, and most of all the ability telling a story mainly only by the images and songs. Not to mention the fact that this film features much more flushy and opulent deeply profound story-line than anyone could have ever witnessed in any J.Woo film to this day! Although, one thing one could find lacking here that many fans of the first two films were affected by, which are the action sequences that this film has clearly no such interest in or simply not being as focused on as many Woo's films, though, such scenes appear here now and then if sporadically but when they show up they're coming with a sense of the unanticipation, shock and philosophical meaningness. As one biographer wrote: "In The Killer Woo shows two men firing guns, back to back, a sort of enclosed circle; Tsui Hark has the same shot in A Better Tomorrow III, except that it's Ho and Kit! Likewise, Tsui has no interest in copying Woo's "bullet ballet" style of directing action sequences; instead, Tsui emphasizes the characters and the situations. Woo directs action for the sake of the action; Tsui directs it for the sake of the story!"

Why people usually prefer the first one to this much dramatically superior film was already many times explained before and one of the things very often mentioned is the element of the commercialism and the appeal well-disposed to the western tastes that was ironically and effectively sold out. This film is totally different by its Chinese aesthetics that works in a more operatic, dreamy, poetic and sometimes fully surrealistic and artistic way J.Woo could only dream of to achieve. This time the meaning of the film is not about the traditional honor, loyalty or brotherhood we've already seen in a never ending line of similar maudlin homo-erotic movies; Here we are introduced to the very meditative themes about the complexities of love and equality, and above all Tsui Hark makes a much more ambitious effort as he brings these themes to a world swallowed by chaos. In the process of portraying the relationship between the main characters, he humbles the viewers with the realization of how insignificant each one of us can be in the face of change. Yet, he does not drag us into the abyss of desperation, as he offers hope and redemption for those who keep trying. Otherwise he brings plentiful other themes resonating with the modern time, among the politics, the fear of the 97 handover and the sprawling examination of gender roles, the film's background centers on the celebration of the Chinese nationality by the usage of the mutual heritage in favor of all or the Chinese notion of fate circling around all the main characters, basically involving Anita Mui's meditative Kit pondering over all her doomed life that's conversely gonna reflect the life of Fat's Mark Gor later in his gangster period (previous sequels -- mind you).

Each 24 or 20 frames per second are filled with an incredible ingenious sense for the timing and meaningful idea that both come along making a totally explosive impact on the mind of the viewer, either verbally or visually. The film employs a jaggy, documentary style to capture the chaos of its time; then later in more quiet moments of the film's time-frame it's creating a lovely montage of Mun, Mark and Kit shopping, using gradated filters for a dreamy, romantic feel that's bringing a sort of allegorical meaning that life continues even under the worst situations, and can also continue with joy.

There's another thing that makes this timeless masterpiece different from other installments: this is one of the very few films that can never be REMADE. Possibly the best and the most provocative T.Hark movie ever!

Let me say that now it doesn't quite surprise me that most of the critics were praising this film as the very best one in this classical series... they could never be more right this time.