ROSA: Context is Everything

ROSA (Blu-ray)

1986 / 97 min

88 Films

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Brawler😼

This happens a lot over here at Free Kittens…we’re sent a title we’ve never heard of, then watch in jaw-dropping astonishment that it ever got greenlit, that those involved genuinely thought they were putting together a good movie, when in fact they’ve cranked out something so disjointed and irritating that our thumbs remain hovered over the stop button, ready to rage-quit once we can’t take anymore. 

That’s how I felt watching Rosa, a 1986 action-comedy from Hong Kong. But at the same time, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that the problem might be with me, that I’m missing something that got lost in translation. And sometimes the mistake is actually ours, assessing a film from a different genre, era and culture based on our own personal - and decidedly western - experiences. 

On the surface, Rosa is a grating buddy-cop movie that blends action and (very) broad comedy. Ha (Yuen Biao) and Lui Kung (Lowell Lo) are a couple of bumbling cops forced to work together by their idiotic police captain, who holds a personal grudge against both of them. The story has them trying to find a guy who witnessed (and photographed) a shady deal involving a local gangster that also resulted in murder. Thrown into the mix is Lui Kung’s sister, Lui Lui (Kara Wai), who’s sweet on Ha, and Rosa (Luk Sui-Fan), the witness’ feisty ex-girlfriend who Lui ogles throughout the movie.

"Sure, he's a fixer-upper, but the price is right."

Huge chunks of the narrative focuses on the goofy exploits of these four, punctuated by silly dialogue and shrill, cartoonish performances (especially Lo, who makes Kevin Hart look like the navel-gazing singer of a grunge band). In between these segments, the film returns to the actual plot, where Biao’s considerable martial arts skills are put to good use. While the fight sequences are admittedly pretty great, I grew increasingly annoyed at the overall lack of narrative cohesion and a tone that’s all over the place. Additionally, I felt some attempts at comedy, such as the cops pretending to be big-time gangsters, were absolutely cringeworthy (which includes Lui donning blackface).

However, sometimes context is everything, which is where physical media releases like this are invaluable. Rosa is indicative of the type of action-comedy hybrid that was absolutely huge in Hong Kong in the 80s. The broad humor, exaggerated characters and over-emoting performances were an integral part of the formula. Like Jerry Lewis’ entire filmography, Rosa’s appeal may have been lost on me, but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t a superlative example of the genre. 

The supplemental material included with this disc provide a lot of valuable context regarding Rosa and the era in which it was released. From an entertainment standpoint, learning its history didn’t change my overall opinion of the film - I will never subject myself to it again - but as these things go, Rosa probably does its job very well. So it goes without saying that fans of this stuff will love it. They’ll also love the Blu-ray transfer. If nothing else, the film looks tremendous and offers two audio options (Cantonese and English). It’s all nicely packaged as a sturdy, attractively designed boxed set. If Rosa sounds like something right up your alley, dig in.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEW - A 23 minute interview with director Joe Cheung and ass’t director Benz Kong. They discuss both Rosa and how they got into the filmmaking business.

ENGLISH OPENING & CLOSING TITLES

TRAILER

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Includes two essays that provide pretty valuable historical context

REVERSIBLE COVER

MINI POSTER REPLICA