The title "Run Papa Run" could give you the wrong idea about what kind of film this actually is. If you expect to see some ex-gang leader running for his life and his family throughout the film a la "Run Lola Run" like I did, you're sorely mistaken. The original title "Black Daddy" would have been more appropriate to convey the film's quirky tale of a triad boss trying to keep his life in the underworld a secret from his baby girl.
"Run Papa Run" isn't a typical gangster film: it takes you through the more emotional side of the gangster in question and is very much centred on his family life, with his overbearing and strict mother, his wife who is the compete opposite of him and his beautiful daughter whom he dotes over like a male emperor penguin guarding his precious egg. Despite being able to tell his enemies to go to hell, he can't bear the thought of his daughter ever hearing him use such language, or worse: his daughter finding out what he really does for a living.
Celebrated Taiwanese director Sylvia Chang, who has been lauded as the Asian heroine of cinema, helms this drama - her own take on the triad movie. Indeed, the multi-award winning actress, writer and director has more than held her own, proving that behind her beauty are her brains and passion for cinema and movie making.
One of the best things about the film is actually the opening credits - or rather, the effects used for the opening credits, which are reminiscent of films such as "A Life Less Ordinary". In fact, the entire film has that same campy feel about it. It is touchingly funny in parts, like when Louis Koo's character, Lee, realises his daughter is terribly scared of his fierce tattoos. He then goes to a tattoo parlour to have them fix them up so that instead of a menacing tiger baring its teeth, the chest tattoo turns into a cute, slap-happy cartoon pussycat.
Raised by a single mother in a crime-ridden neighborhood, LEE has risen from street punk to successful syndicate crime boss. Fast money and women have always come easily to Lee. But Lee unexpectedly falls in love with a lawyer named MABEL. When Mabel becomes pregnant, Lee panics. Unable to commit, Lee refuses to marry her. Determined to make the relationship work, Mabel moves into his apartment uninvited.
Mabel’s stubbornness pays off when their baby HEIYI is born – Lee’s paternal instincts are awakened and he is transformed into a doting father. Desperate to protect his new family, Lee conceals the true nature of his business. His gang members undergo an image makeover and to all outward appearances Lee is now a legitimate businessman. His secret is exposed when Heiyi reaches adolescence. Heiyi urges her father to go straight. But Lee has just been handpicked to be the next kingpin of the underworld and Lee must make a choice between the brotherhood and his family. |