“THE Drummer” is the latest movie from Hong Kong to premiere here. It was written and directed by Kenneth Bi, and stars Hong Kong actors Jaycee Chan, Tony Leung and Taiwan actress Angelina Lee.
Chan, son of action star Jacky Chan, has been particularly busy this latter half of the year, with three releases (including this one), from action in “Invisible Target,” to art-house drama in “The Sun Also Rises,” and now a movie about Zen drummers.
In “The Drummer,” Chan plays Sid in the titular role, and somewhat a departure from his earlier characters, at least initially.
A pompous individual who drums for his rock band, he gets involved with the mistress of a triad boss (Kenneth Tsang) and, without saying further, gets himself into deep trouble. In trying to shield his son, Dad (Tony Leung) sends him packing to a rural area of Taiwan to weather the expected storm of triad displeasure. In his exile, Sid comes across the training grounds of the Zen drummers.
It’s a basic story about the coming of age of an impatient youth as he tries hard to gain acceptance and drum for the drummers, who of course have no need for an impetuous hothead.
And everyone knows the drill from here. There’s a clash of cultures and philosophies pertaining to drumming and in teaching him the ways of their own. There are plenty of “wax-on-wax-off” moments, with virtues like patience, discipline, hard work, perseverance, all appreciated by the newbie, which combine to transform him from a selfish individual to a valuable team player.
But, for the most part, the movie develops in a rather predictable manner with near clichéd subplots. However, the appeal of the characters made it quite enjoyable to sit through, despite its run time of almost two hours split between dramatic moments and those embodying Zen-like teachings and quiet, contemplative pieces.
The movie, like the virtues it’s imparting, requires patience in order to savor the goods of a delightful performance, as typical stories of this nature people would come to expect — the big fight, the finale dance, that rewarding end performance. However, disappointingly, “The Drummer” didn’t deliver when it really should have. Instead, the editing interrupted and intruded on proceedings and, what could have been worth the ticket to witness felt more like spare change.
The romance bit also fell short and was somehow junked from developing further as the narrative switched gears and focused on father and son instead. Hence, Lin Sinjie’s role as Hong Dou became a little sidetracked midway. Which was a pity, given that the potential for some good old-fashioned romance didn’t make the grade.
All in all, it’s a gorgeous film with good acting from the leads, not to mention the professional performances by U-Theater, the real Zen drummers, who come alive when they’re behind their drums.
The movie is now on the big screen in Shenzhen.
(SD-Agencies)
