School On Fire (1988)

Director: Ringo Lam

Cast: Roy Cheung, Ho Ka Kui, Victor Hon, Lam Ching Ying, Fanny Yuen

Running Time: 134 min.

Plot: Savage street battles between a teacher, his students, the cops & the gangs that have ruined their lives.

GWAILO'S REVIEW: Ringo Lam's masterpiece School on Fire is a social comment on the way things are in the British colony circa 1988. The last of Lam's "On Fire" docu-dramas smashes the weathered ideals of the triad world with high school innocence. Done with Lam's ever present true grit, the film's sweaty realism is blasted on to the screen. The finger of blame is pointed at all involved, even the viewer isn't spared. The young culture represented in SOF are groomed to believe that life depends on money and power. A very capitalistic view makes sense in a capitalistic society. Of, course, as we have seen in countless triad movies over the years, the disillusioned "small potatoes" see the triad world as a springboard to easy fame and fortune. Their transition is aided by their parents monetary woes and the surrounding squalor in which they live. The film has formed the foundation of a genre of "triad boys" films. i.e. The Young and Dangerous series and it's relative Once Upon a Time in Triad Society series. It offers tremendous insight into triad society and the society outside that relies on these "bad" people in times of personal strife. Unflinching, you see what capitalistic ideals do to a culture of young people. With a single machete swipe, innocence is lost and replaced with sorrow and pity. What is sso frustrating, and ultimately sad, about SOF is there seems to be no way out. All roads lead to a dead end. Made arguably during the best era in HK cinema, SOF is as violent as any film i've seen and it's power brutal and sobering. I am very happy I have seen this film. Look for Alain Delon's name in the credits!?

GWAILO'S RATING: 10/10