Fantastic Fest 2010

Dante Lam has emerged as one of the more exciting Hong Kong action directors with films like Beast Stalker and Sniper. His latest work, Fire of Conscience, is a slick tale of cops-and-robbers that coats a melodramatic story in a thick layer of blood and gunpowder.

The opening scene, which is partially done in a series of tricky CG enhanced tracking shots, establishes the killings of two police officers and a prostitute. These three deaths connect the lives of two cops: Captain Manfred (Leon Lai) and Inspector Ji Kee (Richie Ren). Manfred is a 27 year veteran of the Hong Kong police force. Haunted by the memory of his recently deceased wife (Vanessa Yeung appearing in flashbacks), he pours his energy into solving the numerous murders, robberies, and child abuse cases that come his way. Manfred isn't afraid to connect his fists to a perp's face. "I only beat up scum," he says. Manfred is backed up by Cheung-on (Kai Chi Liu), a senior cop with all kinds of problems, and an anxious rookie named May (Michelle Ye). Inspector Kee is a member of the Regional Crimes Unit. Kee is polite, well dressed and a little bit suspicious. He enlists Manfred's help in tracking down the cellphone of the cop who was killed in the opening scene. Kee has ulterior motives, which spells trouble for Manfred, his subordinates, and a whole lot of other people.

Wai Lun Ng (S.P.L., Sniper) wrote the script based on a story by Dante Lam. Fire of Conscience sticks closely to a formula that has worked for decades — good cops versus bad cops. Here, the shading of the characters is a bit more gray than usual. Manfred and Kee are presented as two guys consumed by a metaphorical "fire," a raging demon inside that pushes them towards the darkness. The difference betwen is that Manfred fights the demon while Kee succumbs. Wherever there is emotional angst in a Hong Kong film, melodrama is sure to surface. That is certainly case with Fire of Conscience. It is easy to lose track of the number of dead wives, alienated girlfriends, distraught parents, and neglected kids that weigh on the main characters' psyches.

Dante Lam always balances out his penchant for pathos with a serious emphasis on action. Fire of Conscience really delivers the goods with chases, fisticuffs, massive fire fights in public spaces; bodies blown apart by grenades, people falling off buildings; and much more. In a new twist on the classic child endangerment theme, a woman gives birth in a garage engulfed in flames. What more could a person want?

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