Lifeline (十萬火急). 1997. Hong Kong. Directed by Johnnie To. With Lau Ching-wan, Ruby Wong, Carmen Lee, Alex Fong. 35mm. Courtesy the American Genre Film Archive. © Licensed by Celestial Pictures Limited. All rights reserved. In Cantonese; English subtitles. 104 min.
While ambiguous antiheroes dominate Johnnie To’s crime films, an unequivocal hero—a firefighter—takes center stage in Lifeline. To regular Lau Ching-wan (Loving You, Running Out of Time, Mad Detective) stars as a fearless mid-level leader in a fire brigade notorious for its bad luck, whose members frequently suffer major injuries and setbacks while saving lives. To brilliantly combines personal drama with displays of utmost professionalism and camaraderie from this ensemble of lionhearted rescue workers. The film’s gripping centerpiece—a raging fire in a factory filled with explosive materials, which occupies nearly half of the film’s running time—provides the backdrop for the jinxed company to undo their ill fortunes.