A seductive tale of a gang pf hyper-stylish pickpockets and the femme fatale who takes them on, from Hong Kong's genre-twisting Johnnie To (Election, Exiled). Starring Simon Yam, Kelly Lin.
Quite unlike anything I have seen before... Sparrow is so pleasurable that I can't wait to see it again.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2008
Sparrow 2008
Man jeuk
"Genre-twisting master Johnnie To (Exiled, Election) is at his most playful with Sparrow... Deliciously choreographed with an eye for nostalgia as well as action, the plot revolves around a gang of thieves (the title is street slang for ‘pickpocket‘) whose dance with their victims is more charming than menacing, and whose everyday antics border on slapstick. The gang are so preoccupied with their own techniques that each of them unknowingly falls prey to the criminal artistry of Chung Chun-lei (Kelly Lin). Her seductive, cat-and-mouse game with suave, self-appointed leader Kei (the ever-dashing Simon Yam), perfectly accompanied by Xavier Jamaux and Fred Avril‘s omnipotent score, unwinds like a musical love poem to the streets of Hong Kong." — Clare Stewart, Sydney Film Festival.