Trivisa 樹大招風(2016)

(Source 1: https://goo.gl/4jrAIt)

Trivisa (2016) is a locally produced film in 2016, which is based on the 'Three Kings of Thieves', Kwai Ping-hung, Yip Kai-Foon and Cheung Tze-Keung, who are played in the film by Lam Ka-Tung, Jen Hsien-Chi, and Chan Siu-Chung.

It is obvious to identify the genre of Trivisa(2016) is a crime thriller film because the iconography in the film included guns, gangsters and etc.; most importantly, the characters and narrative have based on real notorious Hong Kong mobsters in pre-1997 Hong Kong.

Although from the characters to the settings, Trvias (2016) is a typical crime thriller film, defining the genre is difficult between it based on the understanding of audiences included the social-economic factors and historical phenomenon. Therefore, the genre can be regarded as the constitution between the makers and the audiences. (Chandler 1997)

Trivisa(2016) is not only a crime thriller film but also include the element of collective memory (Storey 2003) in the film. According to Storey(2013), collective memory is individual and collective, also, memories are often fragmented and incomplete.

This film has presented the pessimistic attribute and powerless feeling on the future of Hong Kong.

These three real Hong Kong mobsters and the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong are part of Hong Kong people memory. Through their changing of committing crime have been presented the feeling of facing the handover.

There are two scenes to illustrate above explanation.

  

  (Source 2 : https://goo.gl/RPUasr)

First, Yip was from a gunfighter to smuggling counterfeit electronics in mainland China. Yip always gave up his powerful past and gave a flower vase to the Chinese officials for the sake of seeking their permission and helping. No matter how the real value of flower vase, Yip needed to provide the amount based on the officials, the meaning of flower vase is corruption.

In scene 1, using the medium shot for establishing the power relationship between Yip and the Chinese offices, Yip bent his waist with submissive attribute and used the flower vase for the sake of corrupting the seeking help for the offices, who was in a prominent position.

The situation of Yip have raised some Hong Kong people’s memory on doing business in the mainland China, they need to forget their success or past in Hong Kong to ingratiate some official or prestigious people in mainland China. The narrative has presented the feeling of making the relationship with the mainland China rather that fitting in with crime thriller film.

(Source 3: https://goo.gl/UmTGfG)

Besides, this film has present the powerless feeling on the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong.

Kwai came back Hong Kong and readied to rob the gold shop but he gave up, ironically, the background was Hong Kong Jockey Club and the day was horsing racing, which has brought about the collective memory on a popular slogan “Horses still racing, dancing still carrying on after 1997” from the Chinese government in pre-1997. Hong Kong people only accepted the fact of handover and still lived in changing society.

In the end, these three mobsters wanted to seek for each other and commit a big-scale crime before the handover of Hong Kong but they all were arrested before they gathered.  This ending has caused the pessimistic attribute on the future of Hong Kong.

Although the handover of Hong Kong was twenty-years-ago, these pessimistic attribute and powerless feeling are still popular in the society.

Word count : 550

Sources : 

Source 1: https://goo.gl/4jrAIt

Source 2 : https://goo.gl/RPUasr

Source 3: https://goo.gl/UmTGfG

References : 

Chandler, D. (1997). Introduction to genre theory. Retrieved from http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/intgenre/chandler_genre_theory.pdf

Storey, J. (2003). Popular Culture as the “Roots” and “Routes” of Cultural Identities. In Inventing Popular Culture. (pp.78-91). Malden Mass: Blackwell.

Trivisa 2016, DVD, Media Asia Film Distribution Company Limited, Hong Kong& China, directed by Frank H, Jevons A & Vicky W.