Ocean Flame

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Liu Fendou, director of the stylish black comedy Green Hat, but he’s finally returned with Ocean Flame, a genre-blending tale of amour fou set in Hong Kong’s underworld. Based on a Wang Shuo novel, the film focuses on the sadomasochistic relationship between the thuggish pimp Wang Yao (an intimidating Liao Fan) and sexy barmaid Lichuan (a startlingly assured performance from newcomer Monica Mok).

The pair embark on a brutal, fiercely passionate relationship but Wang soon gets Lichuan to start sleeping with married men so he can blackmail them. Like the title suggests the film explores the binaries inherent in their volatile relationship as the pair’s union slowly tears itself apart thanks to Wang’s violent, tyrannical behaviour and his need to constantly assert his sexual dominance over his partner.

Part gangster melodrama, part frighteningly intense love-story and part lyrical artfilm, Ocean Flame is a poignant love/hate letter to doomed-relationships and the explosive individuals who enter the fray.

The uncut DVD is finally out in Hong Kong. Predictably, the Chinese version is censored so opt for the more expensive HK disc. C'mon, the film's no masterpiece but certainly worth watching...