Also known as Ah Kam: Story of a Stuntwoman, Ann Hui's feature following Summer Snow, the critical and awards explosion towards her gentle story of an Alzheimer's inflicted man (Roy Chiao), takes a turn into territory destined to be noticed by more than just fans of measured Ann Hui cinema. Yes, it's a story set IN Hong Kong cinema, behind the scenes, in a dramatic way (as opposed to the more witty ways in Derek Yee's and Law Chi-Leung's Viva Erotica from the same year) and suitably enough, action icons Michelle Yeoh and Sammo Hung take center stage. One of many candidates to gladly suffer the odd bruise and break, in fact Michelle Yeoh sustained quite a serious injury on set as she mistimed a jump but I would like to say it was worth the sacrifice for the final product. I can't, as Ann Hui misfires in an annoying way. One being that the messy film doesn't seem like a love letter to the cinema she works in at all.

Her writers were coming off The Log and Summer Snow and Hui certainly has expressed warmth towards the action part of Asian cinema, both as a fan of King Hu and Chang Cheh. We're treated to the nuts and bolts of what goes on behind a Hong Kong action movie, featuring players in character roles that we are delighted to see, such as Mang Hoi. An elaborate opening crane shot, some mistimed realism when it comes to creating the non-realistic action scenes within the movie but clearly a tale of group dynamics, somewhat of a heart seems in place anyway. Business is as usual for these workers within a very risky and low paid industry and certain scenes combined with score really does bring out the love for the hard labour someone on the production of The Stuntwoman has.

Enter Ah Kam who has a very quick transition from wannabee stuntwoman to taking over directing reigns and risks. That awfully quick transition signals some warnings but in a way it makes sense looking at subsequent sections where she's steered away from the stunt profession. Here is a girl who's not learned many steps in life and her quick, many, many ventures perhaps represents the most dangerous stunts of all? Within an earthly and rooted look nicely created by cinematographer Ardy Lam (A Battle Of Wits), if we would've gotten a low-key but generally pleasant little tale about what's described above, The Stuntwoman could've been a winner. As it turns out, Ann Hui is a little angry too and with that anger comes a sloppiness, lack of focus and most importantly, approval.

Because things turn a little crappy for Ah Kam as crappy people are prone to doing crappy things but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is the argument. All fine and well and we can take Hui agreeing with the writer's on being mean towards people we don't approve of being subjected to crap. But someone's bad mood (Hui's) doesn't stop the movie sliding into all manner of detours that makes the plate endlessly full. At a point there's core character death, followed by goofy gangsters, reflective voice over and you wonder when is it going to stop? Couldn't it have stopped earlier and does this really fall in line with the celebration of the hard working group?

Answer is no and when final tally comes through, Ann Hui has given Hong Kong cinema two slaps in the face. One in the movie and one towards the movie she created. Although her pace is much better than her ACTUAL better cinema such as Boat People and Eighteen Springs. Plus performers Michelle Yeoh and in particular Sammo Hung look very comfortable embodying the little girl and the tired master respectively. Further proof that at least the latter should get and take the chance to further expand on his excellent subtle, acting. As for Ann Hui and The Stunt Woman, amazingly enough it's totally watchable if you just want to watch something but it represents many train of thoughts at once and that makes it lose its battle with warmth. Oh what a simple classic she almost had.

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.