Rating:

7

AKA: The Stuntwoman, The Stunt Woman, Ah Kam: The Stuntwoman, Ah Kam: The Stunt Woman, The Story Of A Stunt Woman, The Story Of A Stuntwoman, The Story Of Ah Kam

Year of release: 1996

Genre: drama

Director: Ann Hui

Producers: Catherine Hun, David Lau

Action directors: Ching Siu-Tung, Andy Lam

Writers: Chan Man-Keung, John Chan

Editor: Wong Yee-Shun

Cinematography: Ardy Lam

Music: Otomo Yoshihide

Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong, Kent Cheng, Mang Hoi, Richard Ng, Crystal Kwok, Damian Lau, Michael Lam, Nick Cheung, Lo Wing-Hang

Rated IIA; contains mild language and violence

DVD Information

Company: Universe

Format: widescreen

Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin

Subtitles: Chinese, English

Extras: trailers, stars' files

Notes: There is some wear present in the picture, but otherwise this is a decent disc.

Movie Review Index / Main Page

Ah Kam

This movie is the tale of a woman named Ah Kam (Michelle Yeoh), who emigrates from the Mainland to find work in the movie industry. She begins working with an action director (played by Sammo Hung) and her skill and determination soon win over the crew. Ah Kam begins to find some success in the film world, but a series of injuries and a lonely existence force her into marrying a rich playboy. The marriage does not go well and Ah Kam wants to go back to making movies, but after some shady on-set Triad involement, not only does Ah Kam's career come into jeopardy, but her life as well.

For the first two-thirds or so of its' running time, Ah Kam is a very interesting behind-the-scenes look at the world of Hong Kong film-making seen through the eyes of a bit player in the industry. A lot of the running time is devoted to how the cast and crew interact, and since many of the characters are based on actual people like the Heung brothers, the viewer also gets a nice bit of film history thrown in. Even though Ah Kam is not an action movie per se, there are quite a few solid sequences which should satisfy the action junkies out there. One notable scene takes place in an arcade and intercuts footage of the fighting games the crew was just playing with their real brawl.

Besides the guttral impact of the action scenes, Ah Kam offers a solid dramatic experience. This is probably Michelle Yeoh's most developed work as an actor; she creates a wonderful character, showcasing both the ecstasy of performing near-superhuman moves on the set and the downward spiral many people in the industry experience once the cameras stop rolling. She can kick the asses of a dozen guys on-screen, but can't even use the bathroom in her own small shoebox of an apartment. The other cast members also do well, particularly Sammo Hung, who puts out (pardon the pun) his most well-rounded acting role to date.

Disappointingly, though, the third act of Ah Kam takes a turn into your standard Hong Kong melodrama, complete with a cheeseball musical montage. The proceedings are by no means horrible, but the final half-hour of the movie just doesn't mesh very well with the first hour. It's a shame, because the film-makers had the ingredients for something truly special, but there seems to have been a percieved need to make the movie more "mainstream", and the result becomes a bit watered-down.

Note: Even though this was created as an "easy" project for Michelle Yeoh to do after her previous stunt-heavy films, she was actually severely injured during the production -- in typical Hong Kong style, this footage is actually shown during the end credits. At the behest of her then-husband, producer Dickson Poon, Yeoh "retired" from movies. After some serious rehab and a divorce from Poon, Yeoh would re-enter the film industry with Tomorrow Never Dies, a very successful picture that established Yeoh as an international star.