Fat Choi Spirit

"This movie is more about human behaviour and a reflection of what is the meaning of good character rather than just plain old mahjong movie."

Title
Fat Choi Spirit

Chinese Title
Liku-Liku San Lin Choy which kinda means New Year's Fortune. I wonder what does Liku-Liku mean though.

Cast-Character
Basically the writer used the actor's real name as the name of the character.

Gigi Leung Wing Kei
Andy Lau Tak Wah
Sean Lau Ching Wan
Louis Koo Tin Lok
Cherrie Ying Choi Yi

And many many others supporting actors and actresses.

Plot
Andy used to be a compulsive player who was down on his luck and full of debt. Thrown out of the house by his mother and ignored by his more academically gifted and successful younger brother, Louis, he had a hard time running away from debt collectors until one day he met a young girl, Gigi. Whilst this Gigi started out as a bully, but because she fell for him and gave him immense luck, Andy gained great success with his extreme good luck in mahjong games and became very rich. However he refused to marry Gigi because she, though a nice woman when with him, was actually quite a bully who could not understand that he couldn't stand the way she behaved, very temperamental. As Andy said, her behaviour could be revealed by just playing a game of mahjong where when she lost, she would throw the tables, etc., etc., etc., he promised he will marry her if she could play a game of mahjong without such bad temper. She couldn't and so he couldn't marry her though he loved her. In the meantime, Andy found his mother who was now suffering from Alzheimer disease and his brother who faced bankruptcy and moved in with Andy, who coincidentally lived in a bungalow. Not wanting to lose out in finding a job, Louis who had excellent luck in Mahjong but zero skill, was conned out of all his money and even his clothes. But being a kind hearted simpleton, one of the con woman fell for him and decided to mend her ways.

In the meantime, Gigi who was very disappointed with Andy's refusal to marry her, went with the bad crowd, in the form of mahjong con men lead by Sean. Andy who was cursed by Gigi lost his winning streak and instead, found a living as a taxi driver and moved into public housing. Being ever optimistic, he did not complain. However, not wanting Gigi to fall into the con men's trap, he played a game of mahjong with Sean and lost terribly. But Gigi was touched by his actions and went back to him, promising she will return a better woman. But before she left, she gave Andy a blessing and from thereon, Andy's winning streak came back. Louis who had created a mahjong computer game organised a mahjong competition where the winner would be given a free trip to Japan. Andy tried his luck and in the final game his opponent was none other than Sean. Andy, thanks in part to his luck, but mostly to his mahjong skill gave up the game and let Sean win the tickets. Andy simply walked away with Gigi and his family, leaving Sean to wonder did Andy actually lose. When he realised the truth, Sean realised it is not always the winning that gives a player the greatest pleasure, it is the process of it and the ability to let go when one couldn't.

Comments
I was, and still is, very surprised at how well this movie turned out to be. It was one of the best Chinese New Year offerings on my local telly and I am very happy to note that this movie certainly is funny and very meaningful.

For one, I really like the idea how mahjong, a Chinese favourite past time, especially in Hong Kong, is used to narrate a story essentially about the character of a person. Don't be fooled by the ever present mahjong tiles and 4 people sitting around a square table, trying to arrange their tiles to their best advantage. This movie is more about human behaviour and a reflection of good character rather than just a plain old mahjong movie.

This element of good character is illustrated through essentially 3 characters.

Andy Lau portrays the man with the greatest luck in the world, and though he wins more than he loses, he has the best temperament, even when he lost everything he owned. To him and to many others, mahjong or any gambling method is the best way to judge a person's temperament. A good person with patience and good temperament when playing mahjong is essentially a good person who doesn't throw a fit of anger whenever and wherever he likes. Gigi Leung is the perfect example of such person with innately bad character. She is actually a bully but in Andy's eyes, she is also a person who could be good but somehow something is terribly wrong with her character. He refuses to marry her, as each time she is tested at the mahjong table, she fails miserably, though he loves her and will marry her when she changes for the better. At first I didn't quite understand why he refused to marry her, even though her mahjong etiquette may be a bit lacking but after a few minutes into the movie, I realised why the refusal. She may be essentially a good person to him but she isn't that good a person to everybody else. I like the portrayal of their relationship, and the justification for not marrying her and her utter disappointment when she realises that he will never marry her though she couldn't quite understand why.

Sean Lau is another illustration of a person with a good skill (at playing mahjong) but unlike Andy who uses it to earn a bit of decent money and still made good friends with old ladies who called him when they needed an extra player at the table, Sean uses it to cheat people of everything. A decent kind hearted person like Louis was cheated. The funny thing is that Louis has the best luck. His tiles are always perfect at the 1st instance but because he doesn't know how to play mahjong and because he is cheated by Sean, at the end Louis loses everything.

When Andy lost everything and tried to explain something important to Gigi, he uses mahjong. He knows he has no luck, and yet he minimizes his losses by strategy and loses in a very happy way.

The ending itself illustrates the whole movie's message.

When Sean challenges Andy to gamble everything he owns with Andy who has his luck back, Andy willingly gives up the prize tickets to Sean and leaves the table without uncovering his tiles. Sean feels lucky and indeed happy, until he uncovers the tiles and sees Andy's tiles in perfect formation of what could have won over Sean's tiles. Then it hit him; it isn't always about winning. And so Sean quickly leaves the table and runs after Andy calling him "Sifu".

What this movie is trying to say in its subtle way with all the comedy routines, silly characters, and the attraction of mahjong is actually to be a good person. Winning isn't always the best thing, giving people a second chance is. You may be the best girlfriend in the world but you must have strength of character, which is like Andy and even Louis to a certain extent. Kindness pays.

What I absolutely adore about this movie is also the main selling point; the mahjong. I don't know what was going on on the screen with the mahjongs, but I understood one simple philosophy. You may have the best of luck, like Andy, and it helps to win. But when your luck is down, the best way to win a game is essentially dependant on your skills, and you can only showcase your skills if you're patient and observant enough. One great scene is the scene towards the end when Andy has the worst tiles, even with his luck he couldn't have win it outright. And so patiently like a strategist, he looks and predicts what the others have, patiently avoiding giving the tile that would let the other party win and he slowly gathers his tiles to finally win in a glorious manner. I certainly see the philosophy of judging a person's character through Mahjong. On a more practical level, if you're a person who is hot tempered and impatient, there's no way you can plan your next move in this game that demands the highest concentration, and yes, a bit of luck will surely help.

Overall, I think the performances are quite good. Andy certainly lives up to his goody image of a patient man. Even in real life, he is always ever helpful, friendly and smiling. In this movie, I guess there's a bit of popular Andy Lau in his character.

Gigi Leung did a decent job at portraying the nice girl with a very bad character. Her character is nice, and yet something is terribly wrong. In one of my favourite scene, Andy came home to see Gigi finished cleaning his house. I would think he would be grateful but he frowned. Then he revealed why. Instead of sweeping the floor's dirt onto a dust pan, she swept it under the sofa. Instead of carrying the garbage to the dumping area, she dragged it, the plastic bag slit open and all the garbage fell onto the floor. She didn't bother cleaning the dirt. She threw garbage out of the window without remorse. You know she meant well when she cleaned his house, but she did it in the wrong way that you kinda wish she didn't bother in the first place. I think that scene was very funny and yet quite a life lesson for all.

Sean Lau plays his character who dresses like he is some gangsta hip hop star to perfection. His character is mean, remorseless, petty and very flamboyant. It was quite fun to watch this talented actor in such a petty and demeaning role.

Louis Koo was also very funny as the innocent brother of Andy's. He doesn't have much role, in fact quite wasted in here, but for all the screen time he has, I find him very funny and endearing as the sometimes too-innocent-a-bit-dumb brother.

As for the young girl, Cherrie Ying (I do not know who she is anyway), her performance was the worst and the most disappointing. She can't act. Simple.

Verdict
If you want my recommendation for a good movie to watch/rent/buy, this is the movie. Fans of Andy will love this movie and fans of intelligent humour will appreciate the absence of any slapstick humour in this movie. The reason why I love this movie is because of the clever use of mahjong to illustrate human character. You can't find a more light-hearted movie that deals with such a heavy subject anywhere this year.

Give this movie a try. Like I, you might be interested enough to learn mahjong. In fact, chess would illustrate the message of this movie as well, but nothing beats mahjong in atmosphere and the noises that the shuffling mahjong tiles make.

Screenshots
(http://hk.yahoo.com/promotions/fatchoi/ Copyrighted).