Review: King Of Mahjong
In the spirit of Chinese New Year, folks on this island are inclined to partake in all things auspicious, including doling red packets, dressing in new clothes, and... yes, gambling. Director Adrian Teh, in knowing fashion, has released the appropriately themed King of Mahjong right on time, knowing our little nation has probably readied our wallets to trade cards and tiles over the coming festive season.
If the movie has one thing going for it, it is the cast list, which features an intriguing mix of Hong Kong, Malaysian, Taiwan and Singaporean stars. Local funnyman Mark Lee stars alongside Chapman To as Wong Tin Ba and Ah Fatt respectively - both are disciples yearning to achieve the pinnacle of mahjong mastery under their head honcho (Eric Tsang). Two decades on, Tin Ba has accrued many trophies and challenged mahjong masters across the world, while Ah Fatt has retired from mahjong in a decidedly more humble lifestyle, selling yong tau foo with daughter Sassy Bai (Venus Wong Man Yik), accompanied by a motley crew of friends (Patricia Mok, Dennis Chew, Richard Low). When Tin Ba inevitably shows up on Ah Fatt's doorstep, with one final trophy left to claim - the World Mahjong Championship - the two disciples reunite in a showdown for the ages.
Sounds familiar? Perhaps it is. The two-disciples-of-vastly-different-personalities plotline has been overused tirelessly, and you'd be forgiven to think that King Of Mahjong is treading the same, well-worn path. This doesn't happen, actually. There are issues with pacing, yes, but Teh makes up for this by featuring surprisingly lengthy dialogues between his stars. Teh's characters simply talk and talk, almost reminiscent of Tarantino in the way his characters simply don't do anything else but well...talk. And that's not a bad thing, because the last thing to expect with films of festive nature is character development.
King of Mahjong takes a different tack, shedding light on exactly how a film will look like when it risks imbuing its characters with personality over the expense of mindless humour or fast paced action. As with niche films, mahjong newbies have little to fret - an understanding of mahjong is not needed, although mahjong players will surely appreciate the impossible combinations that the characters repeatedly come up with. To the mahjong players - perhaps this is what makes To's Ah Fatt so likeable - despite being the main protagonist, he isn't afraid to shy away from the less glamorous 雞胡 ('chicken hand') victories.
An irksome trait of imported Hong Kong films is usually the Mandarin (普通话) dubbing, layered over original Cantonese dialogue and unmistakeably altering the nuances of character development. Imagine the tremendous relief that came when Eric Tsang's scenes were left intact! Heck, even Chapman To's scenes were gloriously untouched, and you'll appreciate this during the father-daughter scenes that see To and Wong arguing with perfectly timed hilarity. Teh makes the right call by leaving the language of his multi-racial cast alone - the diverse blend of Singlish, Malaysian-accented Mandarin, and Cantonese lends a truly genuine touch to the film. Verdict? Watch, preferably during the Chinese New Year season!
- Thompson Wong
