Tsui Hark proves that being labelled a "New Wave" director does not equal being boring. He was born in Vietnam in 1951, grew up in Hong Kong, studied film in Texas, and stuffed his resume in New York before proceeding to revive practically every tired movie genre known to Hong Kong. Slapstick comedy (All the Wrong Clues, Aces Go Places 3); heroic bloodshed (A Better Tomorrow III); full-blown fantasy (Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain); historical drama (Once Upon a Time in China, The Blade); contemporary drama (Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind); and love stories (The Lovers) -- his versatile camera dominates just about every college-town Hong Kong film festival. And when he's not setting trends and parodying conventions from the director's chair, he acts (Yes Madam, I Love Maria) and produces (A Better Tomorrow, Dragon Inn, A Chinese Ghost Story).
		But Tsui's work isn't defined simply by roving cameras, strange lenses, heroic angles, unusual tints, and a crazy mustache. Certain themes stand out as well. While the films of John Woo and Ringo Lam are always male-dominated, Tsui's films often feature strong female characters. In A Better Tomorrow III, Anita Mui teaches Chow Yun-Fat the nuances of brandishing two guns. In Swordsman II (which Tsui wrote and produced), Brigette Lin plays Asia the Invincible, a man who castrates himself and becomes a woman in order to obtain supreme supernatural powers. Tsui's films also foreshadow the upcoming takeover of Hong Kong by China. In Dangerous Encounters, it's the characters' seeming lack of control over their destinies; and in Once Upon a Time in China, it's the anti-foreigner mentality that allude to 1997. Shanghai Blues and A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon use the setting of a falling city to serve as the metaphor for the end of an era. Even so, Tsui doesn't just make art films. Tsui has a gift for weaving contemporary social issues into films that are very commercial. The Once Upon a Time in China saga is in its sixth installment this year. Tsui Hark's newest movie is his first for the U.S. market. Double Team stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as a world-class counter terrorist, basketball star Dennis Rodman as his partner, and the surprisingly fit-and-trim Mickey Rourke as their nemesis. Not only does the film represent Tsui's first English-language film, but it also presents him with the challenge of working with two of America's notorious bad boys: Rodman and Rourke. But Tsui notes, "I don't find them difficult. I like their energy. The energy they bring to the set is inspiring." Inspired, indeed. During a visit to the Sony Pictures lot, the scenes Tsui cued up for Giant Robot revealed undescribably frenzied action. Then the enigmatic filmmaker took some time to talk about his new movie and answer questions about his career. [ N E X T   P A G E ]