A High Price

I have to be reminded by my missus recently that there's a price for everything. It's those things that money cannot buy, that is truly of value. Our salvation from sin, for example, was bought at a high price through the death of Jesus Christ.

The movie 《十月围城》 "Bodyguards and Assassins" really drove home the same point - sacrifices are made in the process of achieving the greater goal. The movie centered on the the 4 days prior to Mr Sun Yat Sen's visit to Hong Kong on 15 October 1905. The production involved recreating a very vivid Hong Kong street scene from the early 20th century - a bustling harbour that operates as an English Colony, strickened with the ills of gambling and opium trade, but also technically offered a shelter for revolutionary members that have been exiled from China.

Mr Sun was the spiritual revolutionary leader, and his visit to Hong Kong was to unite various rebel factions to launch a systemic uprising to overthrow the Qing Dynasty monarchy system. The Qing government naturally took no chances and engineered a assassination plot to get rid of Mr Sun. But a group of ordinary folks banded together to protect Mr Sun, hoping that one day many other millions of Chinese will delivered in the name of democracy.

This movie boast such a strong cast, that these interesting characters easily outshone the lead line-up:-

• 臭豆腐 (Smelly Beancurd), a menacing-looking and painfully-comical monk-turned-hawker. The role capitalised on ex-NBA center Mengke Bateer's enormous build, and had some of the best fighting scenes (ex-Donnie Yen). This guy was slamming melons onto the enemies' heads (like how Bateer will execute a slamdunk 2 feet from the net). If that is not cool, I don't know what is. Maybe this movie will soon pave a second career for Bateer.

• 阿四 (No. 4), a simple-minded and loyal rickshaw man who seeks to serve his employer. I have never really liked Nicholas Tse, but he took on this role very convincingly - from the innocent infatuation with the the photography studio assistant, to the close bond developed between him and his young master. Finally Mr Tse seems to be acting in roles other than an Ah Beng.

But my favourite was the businessman 李玉堂 (Master Li), a reluctant hero who have been sponsoring a local press in publishing activist materials, but tried very hard to absolve himself of political agenda to protect his family and career. Little did he know that he would end up leading the operation to protect Mr Sun, and risk losing his only son 崇光 (Chong Guang), whom by a stroke of (bad) luck, was chosen to masquerade as Mr Sun and act as a red herring. The cast was so good in their roles that I will not be surprised if any of them receive honours at next year's movie awards.

But like it or not, this show has no happy endings. I will watch it again for the mind-blowing action sequences, and the slice of history surrounding the birth of Republic of China.