Recently restored in 4K and released on Blu-ray by Radiance Films, Life Is Cheap... is Wayne Wang's outrageously satirical docu-film that grabs you by the balls from the get-go, and forgets to let go until it's end credits start rolling. Tearing apart capitalism and communism with it's tongue firmly placed in cheek, the film's main story follows an American Asian man who is hired by someone to deliver a briefcase from America to Hong Kong. Believing that his new employers are gangsters, the escort starts to become intrigued with what is inside after his Hong Kong contact is nowhere to be found. Naturally, his journey is far from simple...

 

Written and directed by Wayne Wang and Spencer Nakasako, with the latter also playing the leading man of the piece, Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive is one of the most bizarre yet fantastic experiences I've witnessed in quite some time. Experimental to some degree and definitely not for everyone, the film offers a lot of surprises through it's narrative, visuals, and cast members – which featured some big Hong Kong names that I did not expect to see. Made in 1989, with some newer scenes filmed a number of years later in order to create Wang's ultimate vision, the film is a stunning and eye-opening journey through Hong Kong offering some beautiful cinematography courtesy of Amir Mokri. Of course, it's clear to see Wang's social commentary on changing times and gets into the nitty-gritty side of the city where animal cruelty is part of daily life, sex rules, and buckets of real blood splash across the screen. To some degree, you can understand why the MPAA wanted to rate it X for it's initial release across North America!

 

Of course, aside from it's scenes of animal cruelty, Life Is Cheap... is well known for having one of the longest foot-chase sequences on film – coming in at around 10 minutes, that takes viewers on an exciting tour of Hong Kong before ending in the now demolished Walled City. It's surreal, it's funny, and it's testing at times; but Life Is Cheap... is definitely one of the most original films I've seen. While I was a little confused on first viewing, I soon gave it another watch and enjoyed it even more second time round. Part of this was down to the extra features available on the Radiance Films Blu-ray release which helped me understand things a bit more. These included two fantastic interviews – the first with Wayne Wang, and the second with him and co-director/star Spencer Nakasako – which were both delivered in English, hugely informative, and often hilarious. Both men are fascinating to listen to, but also come across as genuinely nice people and help break down what Life Is Cheap... is all about. Of course, Wang is more well known for works such as Eat A Bowl Of Tea, The Joy Luck Club, Chinese Box, the Jennifer Lopez movie Maid In Manhattan and Queen Latifah's Last Holiday (surprisingly), but he has directed so much more that I'll certainly be checking out.

 

For Hong Kong film fans, it may excite you to know that stars such as famed Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan director Lo Wei makes an appearance as a character known as Big Boss. Shaw Brothers legend Lo Lieh gets an interesting role as a one-armed pianist – portrayed as such as a nod to the Wang Yu classic, The One-Armed Swordsman. While he really just delivers dialogue in an interview sequence, it was still great to see him appear and lend his wonderful screen presence to such a wild movie. Wayne Wang's lovely wife, Cora Miao, stars as Money – and gets one of the other bigger roles of the film. Having already starred in films such as Itchy Fingers, The Story of Woo Viet, Boat People, Love In A Fallen City and The Terrorizers before this – as well as some of Wang's own aforementioned films – Miao's name itself would have been one of the biggest draws upon it's release, alongside the likes of Lo Lieh and Lo Wei respectively. It was, however, equally as exciting to see the great Victor Wong show up. More widely known for his role as Egg Shen in the awesome Big Trouble In Little China, Wong also appeared in Hollywood films such as Year of the Dragon, The Golden Child, The Last Emperor, Tremors, Seven Years in Tibet, and the 3 Ninja Kids series. But it's also worth noting that he starred in Hong Kong titles like Wang's Eat A Bowl Of Tea, Fatal Vacation, Cageman, and The Adventurers with Andy Lau. And finally, Hong Kong actor Chung Lam – the late prolific actor who appeared in films such as Bullet in the Head, Robotrix, A Better Tomorrow 2, Iron Angels, Dragon in Jail and so much more – gets some scene stealing roles as he fires out lines in English that had me laughing out loud.

 

Unique and weird, yet captivating and beautifully made with a catchy soundtrack, this slice of independent cinema has never looked better thanks to this stunning new 4K restoration from Radiance Films. I'm only sorry it took me this long to see it. While it's not a film you would want to rewatch time and time again, it is definitely one I believe would give you a different experience each time you do – perhaps revealing many new things along the way, but never boring. Wayne Wang is an interesting guy and although I have seen a few of his prior works in the past, I'm pretty intrigued to see more. If Life Is Cheap... was a person, it would definitely be on the spectrum – but that's not a bad thing and for those of you wanting to see something far removed from what you think Asian cinema is all about, then this is a great place to start! (3.5 / 5) George @invincibleasia

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