Stars: Nicholas Tse, Cathy Tsui, Wu Bai

Director: Tsui Hark

Summary: The story of a young man who becomes a bodyguard to earn extra money. He is soon thrown into a series of events that he has no control over...

After making two pictures in Hollywood (DOUBLE TEAM and KNOCK OFF), director Tsui Hark has returned to Hong Kong with a story about two men, two women, and two pregnancies--the theme of doubling mirrors Hark's own split identities (Hollywood vs. Hong Kong, artistic integrity vs. crass commercialism). One man, a bodyguard, dreams of escaping Hong Kong and going to what he thinks is the South American paradise of Aracuju. The other man is from Aracaju, a former member of an elite force called the Angels who has returned to Hong Kong pursued by an angry band of soldiers. The film gradually weaves together the two men's stories, culminating in one of the most extravagant action climaxes since John Woo's HARD BOILED. The short break from filmmaking that director Hark took before making this film pays off in the sheer visual flair on display; a vast panoply of POV shots and "extreme zooms" show Hark at his best. Particularly inventive is the close-quarter fight in a crowded tenement, which takes Hong Kong "wirework" in new directions. Pop singers Nicholas Tse and Wu Bai star in the film and contribute songs, including the very appropriate title song, "Makes No Sense."

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Tsui Hark's triumphant return to making a film set in the present day, Time and Tide, is so fast-moving and kinetically stylised that at times the plot's coherence has to be taken on trust. Young barman Tyler (Nicholas Tse) gets a lesbian cop pregnant after a drunken one-night stand when she fell out with her lover. He feels an obligation to raise money to help her and takes a job in the third-rate bodyguard company of Uncle Li (Anthony Wong), showing a real flair for the job, but not for Li's over-organised system. Coincidentally, he befriends Jack (Wu Bai), husband of the daughter of Li's main client, but also a retired mercenary, whose former allies are in town and up to no good. The two friends find themselves intermittently co-operating and opposed as they pursue their separate agendas; the violence, the bodycount and the special effects all escalate continually. Highlights include some spectacular scenes of grappling down skyscrapers and Tyler's delivering the baby of his friend's wife while she shoots one of her husband's enemies over his shoulder--Tsui Hark's take on the post-John Woo thriller is entertainingly exaggerated and semi-parodic.

On the DVD:The DVD has a choice of English, German and Cantonese dubbing and subtitles in 18 languages from Hindi to Icelandic, and comes with filmographies and theatrical trailers. The soundtrack, full of loud music and explosions, is presented in an abrasively loud Dolby Sound. The film is presented in widescreen letterbox in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; the digital format brings out its deliberately garish colours and use of shadows. --Roz Kaveney

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	Cantonese
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Filmographies, Trailer
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
Year:	2000
Release Date:	August 20, 2001
Runtime:	109 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 31043
Keywords:	Action, Time, Subtitled, Tide, General, Wide, Screen, Adventure, Cantonese
Genre:	Action/Adventure