The Sparrow

B+

Directed by Johnny To

Beautifully shot, wonderfully scored, no plot whatsoever.

That pretty much sums up the latest offering from revered Hong Kong filmmaker Johnny To, the mind behind such films as "The Mission" and "Running Out of Time," who with "The Sparrow" turns his sights away from gunplay and action to offer up a more personal and meditative work. The story centers around a band of pickpockets whose everyday routine of fleecing the crowds in busy Hong Kong is disturbed when a mysterious beauty comes seeking their help.

The first twenty minutes of this film were as pleasant as anything I have sat through in a movie theater all year. Director of photography Cheng Siu Keung captures the atmosphere and beauty of Hong Kong's business and residential districts to a tee, showing a side of the city that is often ignored by filmmakers who prefer to capture the neon lights and cramped spaces of Causeway Bay or Wan Chai. The gorgeous cinematography is complimented by a peculiar but very original and enjoyable score that succeeds in forming a blend of sight and sound that perfectly reflects not only the mood To was obviously trying to set but also visually brings to life some of the most beautiful parts of Hong Kong, a marvelous city in its own right. The first part of the film reminded me a great deal of Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" if that can be useful to anyone as a reference point.

As we all know, however, images and sound can only take you so far if they dont have a strong story to illuminate or otherwise prop up. In the end, films are about the stories they tell and "The Sparrow" seemed to have little in the way of plot. The issue wasn't so much that "The Sparrow" was slow moving but rather that To didn't seem to even have a story he wanted to tell. To fails in providing the type of taught, suspenseful atmosphere he was likely aiming for which is really disappointing because all the elements of style needed to make a truly good and memorable film wrere there, in spades I might add. Nevertheless, "The Sparrow" delivers the type of moments of cinematic pleasure that are rare enough that I can't do anything but recommend it for any moviegoer who is willing to pay to experience some of them.