With Prisoners 同囚 (2017) (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
| Product Title: | With Prisoners (2017) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) |
|---|---|
| Artist Name(s): | Nick Yau (Actor) | Kelvin Kwan (Actor) | Hon Yeung (Actor) | Lee Kwok Lun (Actor) |Edward Chui Chui (Actor) | Gill Mohinderpaul Singh (Actor) | Zhao Yong Hong (Actor) |Tam Ka Chuen (Actor) | Ashina Kwok (Actor) | Cen Jia Qi (Actor) | Mai Yi Ma (Actor) |
| Director: | Andrew Wong |
| Producer: | Tony Leung Hung Wah |
| Release Date: | 2017-07-28 |
| Language: | Cantonese, Mandarin |
| Subtitles: | English, Traditional Chinese |
| Country of Origin: | Hong Kong |
| Picture Format: | NTSC |
| Aspect Ratio: | 1.78 : 1 |
| Widescreen Anamorphic: | Yes |
| Sound Information: | Dolby Digital EX(TM) / THX Surround EX(TM) |
| Disc Format(s): | DVD |
| Region Code: | 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan) |
| Rating: | III |
| Publisher: | Panorama (HK) |
| Package Weight: | 100 (g) |
With Prisoners (2017) - Hong Kong
Hong Kong is known for high quality prisoner dramas and luckily the latest genre film With Prisoners is more in line with Ringo Lam's Prison On Fire than those preachers and well wishers films in recent years. With Prisoners combines real life youth prisoners with pleasing newcomer Neo Yau as the young triad going thru his correctional ritual and Kevin Kwan as one of the few correctional officers with a heart for the greater good. These kind of films can so easily go the route of boredom and some sort of redemption, however first time veteran filmmaker Andrew Wong manages to steer away from those cliche and in turn focus on how difficult conditions really is for the young prisoners once they enter the correctional arena.
The film does not afraid to shy away from how the rule of fear and constant relentless beatings and verbal abuse the inmates go through, but at the same time how the guards are also selfish human beings in their own rights. It is rare that we also see the backstory of one of the guards and Kwan plays the good hearted nature guard with a decent amount of flair, even if his estranged relationship with his former druggie wife (played by Ashina Kwok) goes largely unexplored. While Kimi Chiu's subplot as Neo Yau's suffering girlfriend is rather convincing and added an extra layer by the film's finale.
All in all, With Prisoners highlight one fundamental message, correctional centre is brutal, dark and an extremely uncompromising place to be and even suggests that the kind of torture is both physical and mental. It questions the country's justice system and whether he crime justices the means of punishment. Places like these are run by maniac personnel and it is supposed that after this experience the youth Prisoners will somehow become a better human being. As we grow to understand, they will probably end up dead either within or beyond.
I rated it 3.5/5
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (July 2017)
