Nostalgia Kinky

Less than two years before his landmark directorial debut AS TEARS GO BY hit theaters in 1988, noted auteur Wong Kar-Wai was spending everyday hustlin’, just like so many of his other peers who eventually created the nineties alongside him. Kar-Wai spent much of the eighties shuffling through the film industry in various roles, even appearing in front of the cameras occasionally. It was as screenwriter that Kar-Wei made most of his lean years earnings though, as more than a dozen features carry his name before his own Art-House triumphs. One of these films was ROSA, a 1986 buddy-cop action/comedy hybrid from director Joe Cheung, now available from 88 Films via a restored special edition Blu-ray.

Kar-Wai is credited as ROSA’S screenwriter alongside HARD BOILED scribe Barry Wong Ping-Yiu. Cheung and ROSA assistant director Benz Kong note on the new Blu-ray edition that Ping-Yiu and Kar-Wai traded the script of ROSA back and forth adjusting, adding and deleting until a final version was reached. 88 Films could have heralded this release as coming from the minds behind HARD BOILED and IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and they wouldn’t have been lying, although the deliberately goofy and slapstick ROSA exists in another much sillier universe from those later works.

Like Kar-Wei, Joe Cheung had done his fair-share of hustlin’ also throughout the eighties although his directorial career had begun with 1979’s THE INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MASTER, so he’d been around a bit longer than his soon to be more famous friend. He’d directed POM POM in 1984, a key film in regards to ROSA both genre-wise and how the latter film was eventually sold as a spiritual sequel to Asian audiences. Cheung’s energetic direction for ROSA keeps the film consistently engaging and his eye behind the camera makes some of the original scripts more unsavory aspects easier to swallow.

Plot-wise, not a lot distinguishes ROSA. If you have seen any of the many Asian works mentioned on 88 Films’ new Blu-ray or American works like a LETHAL WEAPON 2 (1989) or honestly any buddy cop comedy made anywhere at anytime, ROSA’S narrative will feel familiar. Also, like many eighties comedies, there is some offensively dated humor with the worst briefly connecting the film to the notorious American comedy SOUL MAN, also from 1986. Despite these missteps, ROSA is a lot of fun and extremely entertaining. It’s hard to imagine a more lightweight film but it’s by design and this new 88 Films Blu-ray will be a most welcome one for Hong Kong Cinema fans.

ROSA is essentially a three-way star-vehicle for frequent action sidekick Yuen Biao, musician Lowell Lo Koon-Ting and erotic drama actress Lu Hsiao-Fen. Konn-Ting even provides the score which includes a new personal favorite theme song (good luck getting this thing out of your head). All three leads serve the film incredibly well, creating an infectious atmosphere throughout.

The entire cast of ROSA is strong, although the film’s real star player is legendary editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung, whose cutting keeps the film moving at a lightening pace. ROSA catches Yiu-Chung at a mid-point between his iconic films from the seventies starring Bruce Lee and his later works from the nineties starring Jacki Chan. His prolific career of course runs much deeper than that of course but regardless his editing is probably the highlight of ROSA. This. Film. Moves.

ROSA ultimately perhaps leaps through one genre too many and it works best in its moments of pure action comedy. Closing out with a terrific final section with some incredible action and fight choreography, ROSA isn’t perhaps a classic of any of the genres it hops but it is still a solid entry in Sammo Hung’s Bo Ho Films production library.

88 Films present a super attractive and extensive package for the Blu-ray premiere of ROSA. The 2k scan from the film’s original negative looks splendid and film sounds solid via both its original and English dub. Presented in a nice hardshell case with a gorgeously designed booklet featuring authoritative writing from experts Fraser Elliott and Paul Bramhall, ROSA finds a very nice home via this release. Along with the aforementioned directors interview, 88 Films gives us two informative and information packed commentary tracks, both of which point out the film’s strengths and weaknesses. These feature the delightfully entertaining duo of Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto on one track and HK Cinema Expert David West on the other. Both are great listens that enhanced my appreciation of this playful Golden Harvest picture.

Rosa can be ordered directly from 88 Films as well as here in the states from MVD.

-Jeremy Richey, December 2025-