Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame

Tsui Hark

The story: The construction chief in charge of building a monumental female Bodhisattva statue mysteriously bursts into flames and dies. Taking place as it does before her coronation, the formidable empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) suspects that something is afoot. She summons Dee Renjie (Andy Lau), whom she imprisoned eight years ago for defying her, back to the capital and charges him with solving the case.

Judge Dee (630-700) was a historical figure who served as a high-ranking official during the Tang dynasty in China. He was later the star in a series of 25 crime fiction novels written by a Dutch diplomat, Robert van Gulik (1910-1967), who was fascinated by the magistrate detective.

The movie is set several years after the conclusion of van Gulik’s series and is based on an original story by Taiwanese film-maker Chen Kuo-fu.

There is something satisfyingly old-school about the premise, which sounds like a Hardy Boys or Sherlock Holmes puzzler.

While Tsui Hark has a good grasp of the mystery thriller genre, he also makes it his own by injecting the film with his trademark touches.

The supernatural element plays a big part in the film. More than just a plot device, it helps to create an ominous mood, helped by the X-Files-like musical cues.

It is also an opportunity for a talking deer to show up. Clearly, Tsui relishes such a surreal sight. Not content with a serenely talking mystical deer, he later ups the ante with a spectacular scene of deer in attack mode.

Gender identity and conflict, another Tsui trademark, is played out on different levels. For example, Li Bingbing, who plays the empress’ right-hand woman Jing, plays both dashing lad and icy beauty.

There is also the fact the story is set before the inauguration of China’s lone female emperor and there is plenty of male anxiety over a woman assuming power.

If this sounds a little heavy-handed, rest easy. What Tsui has delivered above all is an engaging romp with visual flourishes and lots of twists and turns.

Even the movie’s star, Lau, seems to be enjoying himself and turns in a relaxed performance.

Given that Dee Renjie’s colourful origins provide plenty of source material for Hong Kong film-maker Tsui to work with, the prospect of a series of Detective Dee mysteries is definitely delightful.

(ST)