Monga Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Monga Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 19, 2010

Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and selected to represent Taiwan at this year's Oscars, Doze Niu's "Bang-kah" a.k.a "Monga" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar. The supplemental features on the disc include behind the scenes featurette, making of featurette, collection of extended scenes, and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Mandarin, with optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Anger

The year is 1986. The location is Taipei. A young boy, nicknamed Mosquito (Mark Chao), is invited to join the Temple Front, a powerful gang controlling half of Monga, the wealthiest district of the Taiwanese capital. The four boys that recruit Mosquito, and consequently become his best friends, are Dragon Lee (Rhydian Vaughan, Winds of September), Monk (Ethan Ruan, Brotherhood of Legio), A-Po (Huang Teng Hui), and Monkey (Tsai Chang Hsien).

Dragon Lee is the son of Boss Geta (Ma Ju Lung, Cape No. 7), the leader of the Temple Front and the most powerful of all bosses in Monga. Though everyone in the district agrees that one day he will inherit his father’s organization, only a few are convinced that he will live long enough to retire. Many believe that Monk, Dragon Lee’s right-hand man, would be a much better leader.

During a trip to a local whorehouse, Mosquito meets a young prostitute (Ko Chia Yen) with a large scar on her face. The two become friends and eventually he falls in love with her. Mosquito then promises to pay off her owner so that she could become a free woman.

Meanwhile, Dragon Lee’s girlfriend is raped by a street punk connected to a different gang, whose leader happens to be one of Boss Geta’s old partners. The five friends torture the punk and seriously upset Boss Geta, who barely manages to prevent an all-out war. Shortly after, the friends are sent to a boot camp high in the mountains where they are trained to become real gangsters.

Back in Monga a powerful gangster from the Mainland, Crazy Wolf (Doze Niu), offers the old bosses to join him in a union that would give them access to bigger markets, put them in touch with other triads, and transform their turfs. Boss Geta, a staunch traditionalist, rejects the offer, warning Crazy Wolf to stay away from Taipei. However, realizing that it is only a matter of time before the wealthier and more powerful Mainlanders change the way business is done in Monga, one of Boss Geta’s allies sides with Crazy Wolf. Shortly after, another boss is killed. Mosquito, Dragon Lee, Monk, A-Po, and Monkey return to Monga for his funeral.

Selected to represent Taiwan at this year’s Oscars, Doze Niu’s Monga tells two very different stories. The first is about a young boy that becomes a gangster before he becomes a man and consequently learns plenty about life on the streets of Taipei that no one could have possibly taught him in school. The second story is about a city undergoing a massive transformation.

Monga is a long but well paced film (it runs at approximately 140 minutes). Plenty of attention is given to the relationships between the various gangsters as well as the locations where they gather. Indeed, there is a certain sense of authenticity in this film mixed with a great dose of style, which effectively separates it from most everything else that has been produced in Taiwan in recent years.

The production values are strong. The mass gang fights, the glitzy areas and dark back alleys of Monga, as well as some of the industrial corners of the Taiwanese capital, are all impressively lensed by cinematographer Jake Pollock. Monga also boasts a memorable soundtrack, produced by award-winning artist Sandee Chan.

Note: Monga had its world premiere earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film was also screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Monga Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Doze Niu's Monga arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar.

This is a very good high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also impressive; the variety of different reds, yellows, blues, greens, browns, and blacks look well saturated and healthy. During a few daylight scenes I noticed traces of mild edge-enhancement; macroblocking, however, is never a serious issue of concern. There are no traces of heavy filtering either. Additionally, blown through a digital projector Monga conveys a natural, healthy look, and from start to finish remains tight around the edges. Lastly, I did not see any purely transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Monga Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Mandarin Dolby TrueHD 7.1, and Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, MegaStar have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is very strong. The bass is potent, the rear channels active and effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. Even during the mass action scenes, the dialog remains crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Sandee Chan's music score either. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review.

Note: Occasionally, the optional English subtitles switch rather fast. I also noticed some minor syntax errors.

Monga Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American PS3s and SAs.

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Monga. In Mandarin, with optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film, as well as various locations seen throughout the film. The featurette also contains comments from cast and crew members. In Mandarin, with imposed Traditional Chinese subtitles. (22 min, 480/60i).

Behind the Scenes - a second featurette containing footage from the shooting of the film, as well as comments by cast and crew members. In Mandarin, with imposed Traditional Chinese subtitles. (11 min, 480/60i).

NG Shots - a collection of extended scenes. Music and Mandarin, not subtitled. (4 min, 480/60i).

Monga Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I enjoyed Doze Niu's Monga. Its story is excellent and well told. The film also offers a glimpse at a corner of our world we rarely get to see on the big screen. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar, looks and sounds very good. If you reside in a Region-B country and wish to see Monga, please keep in mind that this is a Region-A "locked" release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.