China White

What could have been just another chop chop martial arts film, instead is somewhat above the norm, mainly due to authentic and colorful Amsterdam locations, creative brutality, and a strong performance from the always menacing Billy Drago. The story of rival drug gangs competing for valuable territory is nothing new, but a rapid pace negates some of the familiarity. Drago and his female bodyguard are definitely the most memorable characters, easily rising above the generic Asian gang members. Even skeptical non fans of this type action movie should find enough entertainment value in "China White" to maintain interest. - MERK

According to the article at http://blog.ifeng.com/article/2737487.html, one of the actors in the film, Carina Lau, was forced to appear in this movie for free. She was the victim of an infamous kidnapping shortly before this movie was made, and later photos of her in distress were published in a magazine, which has since been forced to shut down and its publisher sent to jail. The actress denies she was assaulted but there was a movie leaked on net that allegedly showed her being gang-raped. (The Hong Kong press, out of respect for her, has mostly refused to report on the incident, but google will turn up a few articles about it.)

After a long time I have finally been able to get a copy of this and watch it again. Now I do know that there are several versions out there so there is no sure way to tell if the version I saw now is the same as it was the first time I saw it. The action is still top notch. Only those sequences aren't as long as one would expect from a movie in the genre. I have seen a lot of so called heroic bloodshed titles that tried to copy the master John Woo and never came close to it. "China White" is much better than most but also fails to come close of what John Woo has defined. There is one very big plus and that is the setting.Which is China town in Amsterdam. You get the impression it is a large district. But having lived in Amsterdam myself I know it is only a small area part of the red light district which happen to have a lot of Chinese stores and restaurants. But because of the way they shot the movie it actually looks like a big and important territory where people know not to mess with the triads. Besides the action "China White" is a somewhat compelling gangster drama with some decent acting. But could have used more intrigue if the focus was on the story. Russel Wong and Billy Drago do what they can with the material they are given. After careful consideration and comparing it to other titles in the genre this movie still is strong enough.Certainly worth watching.

General Sing tires of the violent skirmishes that sees his men torn apart in Khmer Rouge/Vietnam. Bobby and Danny Chow tire of the violent skirmishes of ethnic crime enterprises in Holland that sees his men starving. If Sing can supply the opium for the streets, Bobby can supply the medical drugs for the jungle. But Love goes undercover and shakes it all up. Definitely an 80's movie as far as acting goes, the drama and action of the era. Its appeal comes from the recurring cycle that every generation seems more sensitive to the last generation, so we look back with fondness at the gritty portrayal of life, not so much in a glorifying nature, but in a noir and pulp feel. It's not a great movie, but it's nostalgic to a degree.

China White is being typecasted as one of many bad martial arts movies. If you judge this movie by the cover (woman with high heels, Saskia van Rijswijk, champion Kickboxing), you would certainly think it is. Wrong, it is a Hk action movie with some martial arts in it. " China White" is to be compared with other heroic bloodshed titles made in Hong Kong. There are a lot of slowmo shootouts (very cool to watch), which take place in Amsterdam, Holland. The story is about a Chinese gang getting into war with the Italian mob in their quest for ultimate control of power in Amsterdam. The story is interesting enough to watch and short enough to be enjoyed. I have also seen a longer version (the HK version), where you get to know more about the background of the main characters, also starring Andy Lau. But for the action part of the movie not very important, so can be missed as is the case in the 98minute version (English version). This is crime drama with heroic bloodshed at it's best.