Asian

MOVIE REVIEW . The Heavenly Kings

A determined Daniel Wu walks at a heightened pace through a modern building’s corridor towards a fated elevator. As he puts on his most serious face, info screens à la Power Point cut in, informing us that in 1995, the Hong Kong music industry revenue was $1.68 billion, and in 2005 even though 40 new singers were signed on, profits dropped to $700 million due to piracy and file sharing. In 2005, Daniel Wu and three of his buddies decided to take on the Hong Kong music scene and created a boyband called Alive. Heavenly Kings is their mockumentary. This is when the opening credits run and we get to go 180 degrees with a lighthearted entry with scissored animations of the boys in outlandish costumes and cartoony situations. Gleefully it announces an insight invite to the absurdity of the professional music biz.

Daniel Wu (The Banquet, Chiseen) and Terence Yin (Yin previously recorded a solo album and is the only one who can carry a tune), pranksters that they are, thought it would be funny if they would form a fake band, leak their own song anonymously onto the internet, then invite the media to capture their disapproval, blaming the industry execs. They enlisted cohorts Andrew Lin (Rob-B-Hood, Naked Weapon) and Conroy Chan (commonly referred to as “Josie Ho’s husband”) who dutifully fell into the crazy whirlwind. Alive wanted to do a music video but lacked funds so they wound up agreeing to a cheesy photo shoot for wedding apparel. After fumbling a live performance, their management urged them to take dancing lessons with a spandexed slavedriver. They also visited a celebrity stylist with John Malkovich caché and ridiculously revealing costumes that would make the Village People blush.

Heavenly Kings also opens a slight poignant window into the history (some fabricated, some genuine) of the four HK stars as they describe their catalyst for joining and staying in Alive. In the sly styling of a well done mockumentary, their friendship is captured amidst a smattering of casual expletives, Terence’s frequent and potent farts, Conroy’s catnaps, Andrew looking nervous and Daniel looking cute. Interludes are interjected in sinister Gorillaz style anime and whimsical découpage montages to enforce this designed dreamworld. They all ham it up individually, together; ad-lib masters. They’ll definitely keep you guessing as to what is fantasy or reality, which echoes their ridiculous instant success sans talent. The four even added tension by including (flimsily staged but realistically founded) arguments and dissolution, doubt and selfish egoism, leading up to the events which loop around to the stern-toned beginning of the film.

Cross referencing live footage, performances and hidden-cam strategic meetings, Heavenly Kings quickly gains credential points. Interviews with Hong Kong musicians/actors like Miriam Yeung, Nicholas Tse, and Karen Mok add to the surreal aspect because they are providing sincere application to their personal experience. Other stories seem a little farfetched and definitely scripted. When Jun Kung, resembling Bloodhound Gang’s Jimmy Pop Ali, relays his tale of naïve confusion, it’s easy to show a little skepticism. This is a terrific blend of soapbox and script.

Heavenly Kings (Daniel Wu’s directorial debut) was definitely a sleeper surprise for me. It turned out to be cleverly edited, thoughtful and concise. It was hilarious with the right amount of serious sidenotes for balance. Taken with a grain of salt, Heavenly Kings is both an exaggerated sheister and a serious exposé.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

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