"
a man is not a man without eight taels of gold .
" starring sammo hung , sylvia chang ; directed by mabel cheung ; written by cheung and alex law ; cinematography by bill wong eight taels of gold begins as a fish out of water story and at some point becomes a love story involving two people whose past choices prevent the fruition of their love .
neither aspect of the movie is entirely successful , but both are good enough .
and along the way there is one perfect scene , which is one more than you find in most films
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slim ( played by portly sammo hung , better known as a star and director of hong kong action movies ) is a chinese immigrant who drives a yellow cab in new york .
when the movie opens , we see him shouting obscenities at another taxi driver .
he does not seem particularly out of place .
in fact , he is about to return to visit his home in rural china for the first time in sixteen years , spending most of his life savings in the process , and it is there that he will become the proverbial fish out of water , as he realizes that you can never go home .
he brings with him some statue of liberty cigarette lighters , cheap sunglasses , and lobsters ( which have to be large , to prove they 're american ) --the tokens of his success .
he also wears a gold chain and a gold watch , because without eight taels of gold , a man is not a man ( my dictionary tells me that taels are a unit of weight used in the far east , and i assume the phrase is a chinese proverb ) .
he loses most of this stuff -- except the gold -- when his van crashes into a river and he has to hitch a ride , so to speak , on a raft along the river which runs past his parents ' village .
when he arrives unannounced , he almost induces cardiac arrest in his father .
all of this has the makings of a routine comedy , and the movie has its amusing moments , as when the villagers take turns giving slim gifts during a celebration of his homecoming , and they all give him birds , so by evening 's end he is surrounded by turkeys , ducks , geese and other sundry fowl .
but eight taels is not a comedy -- it is a sad , sweet story about the choices people make , and how they are sometimes irreparable .
director mabel cheung ( an autumn 's tale , the soong sisters ) sees clearly what it is like to have lived half of your life in one country and half in a country on the other side of the world -- what it is like to no longer have a place to call home .
slim does not belong in china , nor does he belong in america , where he can barely speak the language .
seeing water buffalo in the fields and rafts poled down the river and fireworks exploding gloriously in the sky over a small village , we come to know the world slim left behind , and it seems as if he too is knowing it for the first time , and wishes it felt more like home .
the condition of the expatriate is eloquently portrayed ; i , being one , was sympathetic .
on his way to his parent 's village , slim hooks up with jenny ( sylvia chang ) , whom he knew when she was a girl nicknamed odds - and - ends , which is what he continues to call her , although she is now a mature , professional , attractive woman , to be married in the spring to an american - chinese man .
slim and odds - and - ends fall for each other .
that 's predictable .
the manner in which their ( non- ) romance is played out is not .
the emotions involved are adult and complex , and the film avoids cheap solutions to their dilemma .
it 's typical , for instance , that the fianc ?
in this sort of plot be a colossal jerk , because it makes it easier to empathize with the unrequited lover .
but here the fianc ? is a decent , ordinary guy , and although slim would like to feel anger , he can not .
the fianc ? has done nothing wrong ; the situation is the result of bad luck or bad decisions , take your pick .
eight taels has its share of flaws ( the early sequences in america and on the plane to china are especially weak ) , but it compensates with insight .
when odds - and - ends tells slim that her future husband wants to move to san francisco , she notes resignedly , " it 's all the same .
wherever we go , we 'll be in chinatown , " and her straightforward statement expresses much .
there is insight , too , in the understanding of the consequences of slim and odds - and - ends ' decisions : he to move to america , she to marry a chinese - american .
both their choices were perhaps born of impatience , perhaps of a sense that the grass is always greener -- and it turns out that both choices were wrong .
but they can not undo them ; they must live with what they have done .
such is life .
the movie is tender toward these people , but it offers no false comforts .
everything that is right and true
about eight taels comes together in one great scene , which is the culmination of the love story .
slim and odds - and - ends sit in a secluded spot and talk hesitantly , with the muted pop - pop of fireworks exploding in the night behind them , and it seems the conversation will lead to a kiss .
the exchange that follows , and what slim then does , is poignant and perfect : with clarity and understatement , we see two people 's lives , their heartbreaks and virtues , summed up in a single moment .
yes , the film is flawed , but moments like that justify most of its inadequacies .
there is one perfect scene , which is one more than you find in most films comes together in one great scene poignant and perfect eloquently portrayed both are good enough