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Cast:
Richie
Ren
Ruby
Lin
Kong
Shan
Chu
Guang Ko
Blacky
Ko
Producer:
Yeung
Sai Gong
Blacky
Ko
Director:
Blacky
Ko
Score:
  
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LIFE
EXPRESS
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2003 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Perhaps
the main reason why 'Life Express' has been widely heralded on
its DVD release is the unfortunate fact that it was Blacky
Ko's last film before his death. In setting out to review a
film that only came to my attention due to sad circumstances,
it is vital to try to judge the production on its own merits.
Keen
footballer Fai lives with his mother and disabled grandfather
in mainland China, unaware that he has a rare medical
disorder. After playing with his young friends, Fai collapses
at home and his grandfather - despite the obvious difficulties
- manages to alert the authorities. Fai is rushed to hospital
in Beijing where the doctors release that their young patient
needs specialist attention. In desperate need of a particular
kind of bone marrow donor, Fai is oblivious to the enormity of
the task though his mother's obvious distress begins to worry
him. Meanwhile in Taiwan, a young doctor (Ren) hears of Fai's
situation and, with the help of his fiancée, sets out to find
someone to donate the needed bone marrow. As it happens the
only person in a position to help is a prison inmate who,
after much reflection, agrees to act as a donor. As Fai's
condition worsens, the extraction takes place in Taiwan and
the bone marrow is transported to Tai Pei airport to be flown
directly to Beijing. However, a sudden earthquake threatens
the whole operation and now the doctor faces a race against
time to get to the airport before the last flight leaves.
Despite
the obvious sadness of seeing Blacky Ko in his last appearance
(which will be discussed later), 'Life Express' has enough raw
emotion to stand alone as a powerful drama. Though it appears
to be little more than a glorified episode of 'E.R.', 'Life
Express' is far more moving than should be expected - it
certainly has a deeper air of poignancy than the average
episode of any medical drama. The scenes of Fai with the
little girl who's been diagnosed with leukaemia are very hard
to watch without the odd tear forming. While such moments give
the impression that Blacky Ko is relying on emotional
manipulation, there's undoubtedly an earnestness to these
scenes that transcend expected melodrama. Obviously the nature
of the storyline means there are a few instances of melodrama,
but it's still a more successful film than it initially seems.
Plaudits
for the effectiveness of a clichéd film go to the young actor
playing Fai and the actress playing his young friend. It's
very difficult to be too harsh on a film that has two such
young thespians giving performances that are so
heart-wrenching. The only downside is that this isn't a film
that just tries to be a medical drama; the closing twenty
minutes turns into a race-against-time narrative with the two
doctors rushing through earthquake debris to get to the
airport. The idea itself isn't the problem, rather its the
late appearance of this plot twist. As it just occurs in the
closing quarter of the story, there's a definite feeling that
it has been awkwardly squeezed in some kind of misguided
attempt to inject more tension. Therefore, what was succeeding
as a touching medical drama tries to juggle another pointless
element without there being a need for it. In a similar vein,
Richie Ren and Ruby Lin are only marginal figures in the
storyline - this makes their characters uninvolving and
underwritten. Despite their respective talents, they have
little relevance until the film's denouement.
The
death of Blacky Ko shortly after production does add a deeper
level of pathos to the film. Scenes featuring Ko's character
re-evaluating his life are particularly significant and make
his subsequent scenes especially thought-provoking - the
ending caption that asks for a minute to be spent in thought
about Blacky Ko's death also packs a punch. Thankfully, 'Life
Express' isn't a bad film for Ko's career to have ended on.
While the excursions into disaster flick are unwelcome and the
odd cliché doesn't aid the smooth running of the film, this
is nevertheless an often sobering drama that impresses with
the contribution by some of the young cast members.
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