Plastic City Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Plastic City Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 20, 2010

Nominated for Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Nelson Yu Lik-wai's "Dangkou" a.k.a "Plastic City" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Taiwanese distributors New Movie Trading Co. Ltd. Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc. In Portuguese and Cantonese, with optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Jo Odagiri as Kirin

The story of Plastic City revolves around an aging Chinese-Brazilian gangster, Yuda (Anthony Wong, Exiled), who has made a fortune selling pirated goods in the city of Sao Paolo. In recent years, however, globalization has seriously hurt Yuda's business. Powerful Chinese, American and Russian gangs have brought better goods and lower prices, and Sao Paolo has become a jungle where former partners are now fierce competitors.

Kirin (Jo Odagiri, Bright Future), Yuda's adopted Japanese son, feels that the time to call it quits may have finally come. There are bigger players on the market now, with deeper pockets and serious international contacts, which Yuda and his men cannot compete with. Yuda, however, disagrees. He is convinced that with strong investments and proper planning, Sao Paolo can still be his city.

A Taiwanese businessman approaches Yuda with an offer to supply him with "left-over" goods - authentic products delivered directly from factories that have been contracted by brand name manufacturers. Fearing that such a partnership will eventually hurt his business, because it would allow the Taiwanese businessman to control the influx of goods on the market, Yuda rejects the offer. Shortly after, he is arrested and thrown in jail where he is nearly killed.

Determined to get his father out of prison, Kirin goes on a violent spree that sets off a massive gang war on the streets of Sao Paolo. Influential politicians and government official also get involved in the conflict. Eventually, Yuda is released but forced to flee into the jungles of Brazil.

Nelson Yu Lik-wai's Plastic City is a strange, beautiful, and impossible to fully deconstruct film. On one hand, it is something of a gangster saga about a father and his adopted son struggling to adapt to a world they thought they knew well. On the other hand, Plastic City very much feels like a visual poem about a collapsing multicultural city riddled with crime and poverty.

The narrative is broken into tiny episodes that focus on a variety of different relationships - Yuda's relationship with his son, Kirin's affair with a beautiful exotic dancer (Taina Muller, Elite Squad 2), as well as the love-hate relationship between Sao Paolo and its residents. In the beginning of the film, there is nothing unusual about these relationships; they follow a familiar, "traditional" route. Later on, however, after Yuda reject’s the Taiwanese businessman’s offer and chaos erupts, they drastically change.

At its core Plastic City is about the clash of ideas, some seen as modern and progressive, others as traditional or dated. Some of Lik-wai's observations about multiculturalism, for instance, are fascinating, but presented in a manner that will likely frustrate viewers who like their films as straightforward as possible.

The acting is very good. Wong is terrific as the aging gangster who does not want to accept the fact that his beloved city has changed and there is no longer a place for him in it. Odagiri is a brutal but very elegant killer. Muller has a small role in the film but makes the most of it.

Lai Yiu-Fai’s lensing is fantastic; it gives Plastic City a notably stylish look. The use of color, in particular, is very impressive. The scene at the end of the film where Kirin and his men clash with their rivals also has some outstanding CGI effects.

Note: Director Lik-wai has contributed as a cinematographer to a number of Jia Zhang Ke’s films, including Pickpocket (1997), The World (2004), Still Life (2006), and 24 City (2008).

Plastic City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nelson Yu Lik-wai's Plastic City arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Taiwanese distributors New Movie Trading Co. Ltd.

This is a disappointing high-definition transfer. First, the film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 to 1.78:1. Second, fine object detail is notably weak. Many of the indoor scenes, for example, look incredibly soft and blocky. Contrast levels are also very problematic. The nighttime shootouts, in particular, are very disappointing. The film obviously has a very unique color-scheme, but it is impossible to tell whether the color boosting is intentional. Furthermore, there are no serious stability issues, but I noticed a lot of background flicker. Finally, I also spotted plenty of minor flecks and debris. All in all, this is a very disappointing release of a fascinating film. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Plastic City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, New Movie Trading Co. Ltd have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature.

Unlike the video treatment, the audio treatment is actually quite strong. The Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is well rounded and with a pleasing dynamic amplitude. The bass is potent, the rear channels quite active and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog, however, is not always clean and easy to follow. Some of the Portuguese dubbing creates minor balance issues, which the more sensitive amongst you will quickly notice. This said, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

I tested only a couple of scenes with the Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 track and was not terribly impressed with it. The final clash between Kirin's men and his rivals, for instance, is quite unremarkable.

Plastic City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are absolutely no supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc whatsoever.

Plastic City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is very disappointing to see that this unique film did not get a proper Blu-ray release. Hopefully a U.S or UK, or French, distributor would eventually deliver a deserving release. Until then, this Taiwanese import remains the only way to see Plastic City. If you can, RENT IT.