Running on Karma

This award-winning mystery from 2003 is most certainly not your average Hong Kong action fare, thanks to combining a gripping storyline with Buddhist philosophies. Andy Lau excels in his part of a former monk who decided on a ‘career change’ after realising he can see a person’s past life… but in his present life, the past comes back to haunt him…

We’re off to a rollicking start in a nightclub, where the Hong Kong equivalent of ‘The Chippendales’ strut their stuff to the delight of overtly excited female admirers. One of the performers is ‘Biggie’ (Andy Lau in a prosthetic suit which makes him look like a Marvel superhero), an illegal immigrant from mainland China with aspirations to become a bona fide bodybuilder and who earns his crust in said strip club. The riotous fun gets interrupted when one of the female admirers turns out to be rookie CID undercover cop Lee Fung-yee (Cecilia Cheung) who, together with colleagues, is about to bust the place – with Biggie managing to escape in the nude, much to the amusement of some bystanders. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the tone is considerably darker because the CID team under Inspector Chung (Eddie Cheung) are about to investigate a particularly gruesome murder in a blood-spattered apartment, with the victim (a man of Indian descent) lying on the floor with his face bashed in. As the detectives are about to proceed with their work, Inspector Chung hears a rustling noise from a large tin container on the floor. Carefully opening the lid, Chung is confronted with a human head… though as it turns out, the head is still attached to a body and belongs to a particularly crafty contortionist (also of Indian descent), who wriggles himself out of the tin container to the horror of the policemen. Clearly, he is the murderer though attempts to handcuff him fail, as he manages to free himself within seconds (he is a contortionist after all) and worse still, even manages to escape.

As it so happens, while the killer-contortionist runs into one direction along a near deserted street (pursued by Inspector Chung’s team, including a police dog), Biggie runs into the same street coming from another direction (pursued by rookie cop Lee). A clash is unavoidable and during the shoot-out, which leaves Lee wounded, the unfortunate police dog loses his life. At this moment and upon looking at the fatally wounded animal, Biggie has one of his Karma-visions and sees that in a previous life, the dog was a child who beat up… dogs. The child, in his current incarnation, is the police dog who has just lost his life and karma (according to Buddhist philosophy) has come full circle. He also sees what will happen to a woman whose path crosses that with the Indian contortionist before it actually does happen… Biggie, despite his help in catching the killer, is arrested, in his case for ‘indecent exposure in public’ though as it emerges, he has quite the criminal record though it’s all rather small fry. After a night in the slammer, he is released without charge as he helped with the arrest of the killer, though Lee warns him that he will be deported back to mainland China as he is in Hong Kong illegally. While at the police station, he has a Karma-vision of rookie cop Lee and what he sees is unsettling, because in a previous life she was a Japanese soldier, responsible for many deaths during the Manchurian War. In her current incarnation, Lee is of course a good person trying to help others but Biggie knows that the time will come for her to make atonements for what her past incarnation did.

Of course, Biggie doesn’t return to the mainland, far from it, he literally jumps, kicks and flies to Lee’s aid when she is hot on the heels of a thief – the action sequences are quite a sight, if not 100% realistic (too much reliance on wirework). Lee returns Biggie’s efforts with supporting him at bodybuilding competitions and clearly, there’s romance in the air, however, as much as Biggie would like to get involved, he can’t shake off the vision of the Japanese soldier appearing behind Lee. Eventually, he decides to tell Lee of what he sees and what she used to be and because karma can’t be changed, her fate cannot be changed either - meaning that she will have to die for the sins which her past incarnation committed. This leads to the film’s climax, which holds an unexpected twist in store and is cleverly constructed…

Andy Lau’s prosthetic bodybuilder suit almost verges on the absurd though no doubt contributes to the more humorous aspects of this inspired film, which cannot decide whether it’s meant to be a pitch-dark black comedy or a more thought-provoking affair, interspersed with some unsettling moments. Either way, it succeeds! The film’s concept is without doubt original and interesting though it might help if viewers were – to some extent at least – acquainted with Buddhist philosophies. Cecilia Cheung is a worthy addition to the film and complements Andy Lau perfectly – and kudos to him, as it must have been gruelling beyond words to dance, kick, run and fight wearing a cumbersome prosthetic suit.

RUNNING ON KARMA is available on Blu-ray as a Limited Edition (2000 copies only) release, featured in an O-card slipcase. Bonus material various audio options, new audio commentary and interviews, archival interviews and ‘Making of…’ featurette, trailer, plus Collector’s booklet.