Triangle (Hong Kong. 2007)

One film. One Story. Three Directors.

Back in the early 90’s, if someone told me that three of the most talented Hong Kong filmmakers that ever lived would get together to birth a singular bastard child of (irrefutable) celluloid awesomeness, I’d literally thank the heavens. That was the early 90’s. These days I’d just wish the guys luck: Tsui Hark has suffered a sling of box office flops and has been desperately pumping out mainstream fluff in an attempt to get back in people’s good books. Ringo Lam disappeared off the map after helming a slew of above average Jean Claude Van Damme films that went to straight to video hell. Johnnie To is the odd man out here. He’s had huge success recently with films like “Mad Detective” and “Exiled” and he msut have orchestrated the project as the “I’m currently successful, but I’ll throw you sad saps a bone” role. The film drops the “Three desperate men must pull off an illegal act” plotline into each individuals director’s lap and they leap-frog into the direction they think it should go. The final product is as scattershot and inconsistent as you’d expect, but there’s still a few nuggets of old-school talent to make the trip worthwhile.

Starting off as a straight-forward (almost FAST forwarded) heist film, Tsui Hark sets up the pace nicely by introducing a slew of characters (including tanned matinee idol Louis Koo and the “Man of a million movies” Anthony Wong) who are desperately seeking a buried gold treasure. The going is good from the get go, with the events proceeding in a speedy and stylish but not completely confusing manner. It’s only when Ringo Lam takes his turn at the wheel that things go off the road. Every character goes completely against type, the story blows a minor subplot into a major one and the genre morphs into a heavy handed psychological drama. That’s all fine and dandy on its own, but it never gels with what has come before. Johnnie To is up last and for his contribution, he decided to kick any character quirks to the side and turn it all into a slapstick comedy of coincidences. He nails the climax to one location, introduces roughly five new characters (It wouldn’t be a Hong Kong film without Lam Suet!) and then plays it all for broad laughs. The nervous and terrified main players from before are nothing but prat-falling caricatures stuck in his Rube-Goldberg machinations. It’s arguably the most successful segment, but it has almost zero relation to what has come before. On their own each segment have their plusses: Tsui Hark has solid storytelling skills, Ringo Lam still knows how to ratchet up that tension, and Johnnie To orchestrates scenes like they where a musical. It just doesn’t work together. Characters are an integral part of any story (even one as drifting as this one) and if they’re completely shuffled to fit a scenes needs the audience will never have chance to connect with them. If Triangle is approached from a film buff’s perspective it’s interesting (if failed) experiment. Everyone else will just be left scratching their heads.