Motorway

Though it can be assumed that the success of Drive was the impetus for Motorway, the latter is in no way just a typical Hong Kong copy of a successful foreign film, the likes of which were churned out by the dozen in the 1980s and ’90s. The new film produced by Johnnie To and directed by his protégé Pou-Soi Cheang is worthy of attention because it converts the purely American car-movie genre into a form with which Hong Kong viewers are intimately familiar. Though Motorway contains car chases, there is no fetishisation of the cars themselves or their parameters as seen in American movies. On the contrary, the main role is played by the drivers, though they are presented not as people, but as superhuman symbiotes with automobiles. The connection of man and machine is completed by the narrative, which is strikingly reminiscent of fight movies. This time, viewers are also presented with a hot-headed and dashing novice who encounters his nemesis in the form of a perfect driver and begins to perfect his skills under the tutelage of a master, who is later killed by the nemesis and must be avenged by the protagonist. With a straight face, the film presents driving skill as the equivalent of martial arts. As in the case of fighting techniques, mastery in the art of car-fu includes the ability to drive blind, guided only by the noise of one’s surroundings, and to be one with the engine. Though Motorway is literally a singular genre hybrid offering an obscure concept and some imaginative camerawork, it doesn’t have enough viewer attractions to make it memorable. (2013-09-19)