Throw Down (Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok)

[divine_comedy]

Has anybody else seen this movie ? I thought this is Johnie To's best and most emotional movie to date.

[CyberMonk]

i thought it was ok, Did anyone else find it odd that it seemed like everyone knew judo in the movie?

[expression]

How did Aaron do? He has always struck me as a great stage performer rather than actor.

[divine_comedy]

The prevalence of judo is because the movie is Johnie To's homage to the late Akira Kurosawa. Remember the weird guy who always re-introduce himself ? He mentions Sanshiro Sugata alot, that's Akira Kurosawa's first movie, which also centers around judo.

Aaron Kwok did not give Oscar worthy performance, but he wasn't bad either. His role is really quite simple but also pretty central to the theme of the movie.

[James Ko]

So who is the main charactor, Aaron or Louis?

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Louis. Aaron's just a glorified supporting character.

[James Ko]

Louis. Aaron's just a glorified supporting character.

I see... cause it seems lot of people mention this film dont' really mention Louis much just Aaron...

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Aaron's role is much showy. He's the one in action all the time while Louis spent most of the film in drunken stupour.

[kidd]

----------------------------Spoiler Question------------------------------













Has Szeto (Louis) gone blind at the end of the movie?
So, the reason he quit judo and became a drunkard and gambler in the first place is because he got this blindness disease?



----------------------------Spoiler Question ends----------------------------

[Eliar Swiftfire]

... no no NOOOOO!

[James Ko]

Hey if there is the blind samurai, i don't see why there isn't a blind judo master

[Eliar Swiftfire]

*smacks forehead* He DID NOT become a drunkard and gambler because of the blindness disease.

Sheesh? It's just an in-joke Aaron and Louis shared.

[kidd]

---------------------------Possible Spoiler-------------------------------

*smacks forehead* He DID NOT become a drunkard and gambler because of the blindness disease.

Sheesh? It's just an in-joke Aaron and Louis shared.

I thought Szeto (Louis) was joking too when he told Tony (Aaron) he is going blind. But at the end, when Szeto was going to the field to fight with Kong (Tong Leung), he has to be led there by Tony. If Tony can see the way, why can't Szeto? When Szeto reached where Kong was standing it was Tony who told him to stop. And when Kong and him started fighting, Kong was blindfolded but Szeto was not. Later after the fight ended, Szeto was again led away from the field by Tony.
Lastly, in the final scene, where Szeto was giving out leaflet together with Jing (Choi Yat Chi), he was just standing there (People usually walk around when handing out leaflets on the street). It was people around him who walk up to him to take the leaflets.

Because of these curious scenes, I was led to believe that Szeto was blind at the end (and I still suspect so. Your forehead smacking, your 'Sheesh' and your capitalised 'NO' are not enough to convince me otherwise) and that means he was not joking when he told Tony he is going blind.

Szeto's reason for leaving Judo was never explained in the movie. There must be something that caused such a great transformation in him. So, I conclude that it was the disease that make him leave judo.

Btw, I just found out. I was not the only one who think he is blind at the end. This is what one of the movie's synopsis says:

Johnnie To's 'Throw Down' opens

Throw Down, a new Judo film from Hong Kong action filmmaker Johnnie To (PTU, Running on Karma) opened in Hong Kong on July 8th. It's the first martial arts film from To since The Bare-Footed Kid in 1993. Louis Koo stars as a former Judo champion who is slowly going blind, but must fight once again in order to honor a sacrifice his mentor makes. Aaron Kwok plays a champion fighter who challenges Koo, while Tony Leung briefly appears as Koo's old nemesis. Extensive Judo action is choreographed by Yuen Bun and Ah To. Visit the official site to view two trailers

Source: http://www.kungfucinema.com/updates/updates2004-07.htm

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Hm. I'm starting to get convinced. Will rewatch the film.

[divine_comedy]

Yep, and remember when Louis got really emotional when Aaron mentions that him going blind was just a joke.

[divine_comedy]

IMHO, the reason why he left judo is not being made clearer is that it does not matter. Remember that the movie is really more about perseverance than anything else.

[kidd]

IMHO, the reason why he left judo is not being made clearer is that it does not matter. Remember that the movie is really more about perseverance than anything else.

I actually like how they refrain from giving a direct answer to Szeto's reason of leaving and let vewiers make the conlusion themselves. But some viewers might not feel the same. I read 1 review of Throwdown yesterday where the reviewer commented that because there is no character development or any relevant clues to the individuals’ pasts, it was difficult to care about the characters.

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Well, it's a Johnnie To movie, he takes a minimalist approach in his films. Things have to be interpreted, not spelt out. (heh, check out my article about him!)

[kidd]

Anyone figure out what is the significance of Eddie Cheung's character (Savage)? Why does he seems to be on high or drunk all the time?

Also, what is the purpose of Calvin Choi's character (Jing)?

Lastly, why when Wong Kar Wai is being minimalist, people see his work as the best thing since slice bread, but when other director is being minimalist, people say it's lack of character development?

[kidd]

Just wonder. Why did Johnnie To choose Louis Koo to play Szeto and Aaron Kwok to play Tony instead of the other way round? Aaron is 5 years older than Louis and it shows. So, it's a bit unbelievable seeing him play a young judo enthusiast against Louis's veteran judo champion.