After its hot release in 2022, “The Corridor of Justice” was rated as “Hong Kong Film of the Year” by many audiences. Because of its bloody and erotic scenes, it was directly reduced to a third-grade film that had no chance with the mainland. The film is a bit like the combination of “Twelve Angry Men” and “Treading on Blood and Seeking Plum”. Although the narration is a bit of show-off, it has created a masterpiece of crime!
Adapted from a “case of treason and family killing” that caused a sensation in Hong Kong in 2013, the first defendant killed his parents, and then disposed of the body together with the second defendant. Finally, one was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the other was released in court. The whole film tells the story through two defendants, relatives and friends, jurors, lawyers, prosecutors and other characters arguing!
Zhang Xianzong considered himself to be intelligent, easy to work, and had a strong sense of loneliness and inferiority, but attributed his failure to his parents! At the beginning, he posted a notice on the Internet to ask people to help him find his parents, but in fact, Erlao had already become the enemy of his knife, and such a lie was doomed to be exposed by the police.
One minute ago, he broadcast his search notice live on the Internet, and the scene of his father killing appeared in a flash. It can be seen that the psychological quality of this abnormal murderer is still a little strong. Yang Weilun’s wonderful performance was very frightening!
A couple in their 60s were killed and dismembered. In addition to Zhang Xianzong, who was the real culprit in the case, he also confessed that Tang Wenqi was also an accomplice. Both of them denied the murder charge and could only plead in court!
Tang Wenqi, played by Mai Peidong, was also very impressed. Is the suspect innocent? It also became the suspense of the whole film. This fat man with lower IQ seems clumsy and reckless. Did he kill people? Is he really being used? Or is he more cunning and cruel?
Later, two lawyers, Wu Guanfeng and You Jiali, were defending the case, the prosecutor, Zhu Ellen, was questioning the case, and nine jurors were discussing the case, including housewives and office white-collar workers, which were talking about the case from different perspectives. Moreover, the criminal process is complicated and confusing. Who is justice fighting for?
He was bullied in his childhood. His father beat his mother and then beat his brother and himself, which made Zhang Xianzong more and more lonely! He began to fantasize that he was Hitler, that the fat man was his attendant, and that after killing his parents, he would go to the mainland to kill prostitutes for fun, all using the stream of consciousness lens, which made people shudder!
Tang Wenqi is also a failure in life. He committed suicide at home by burning charcoal, taking rat poison and swallowing mercury because of emotional frustration. After being rescued, his brain was permanently damaged. In the court, the lawyer also questioned him and his ex-girlfriend, which made people think that he was suspicious!
There is a classic line in the film: “The system can be changed, but it is called politics for selfish reasons!” Therefore, the jury is deliberating whether it is right or wrong for each new case and vote. But who can achieve the perfect “truth”? Justice is like a cloister, circling in circles!
When Tang Wenqi’s sister went to court, she wept about how miserable her brother was and revealed that she could call him mentally retarded in public. This was not to cover up for him at all. After all, Tang Wenqi is a normal person who can track down his girlfriend. He knows what he is doing and what his friend is doing. The jury can decide that he is not guilty. It must be a huge controversy!
Tang Wenqi was acquitted after only one year in prison! Later, in an interview, he revealed that he hoped to find the hands and feet of the dismemberment case. He finally said, “If I can’t find it, I can’t do it”, but he was a little thoughtful and scared.
The camera finally flashed back to his nightmares in the spider fantasy. The “ending” does not tell the truth, but is more imaginative!
Director He Jaztian broke the fourth wall with montage editing and tried to make the film appear breakthrough. For example, every time the jury deliberates the case, the camera will instantly restore the details of the murder case, even the erotic segment, to the audience. But such naked techniques are very complicated and seem more depressing and gloomy!
This film is extremely difficult to attract investment because it has abandoned the mainland market. It is reported that the supervisor Weng Ziguang used his savings to buy the Nano Building, the owner of Meiya Entertainment Li Guoxing invested part of it, and the Hong Kong Film Development Foundation gave 2.5 million yuan, plus three anonymous people contributed money, so that the film could be successfully completed. The Hong Kong box office exceeded 43 million, which is even more miraculous.
In addition to its impact on violence and eroticism, the court trial is also full of drama. The audience will begin to sympathize with Tang Wenqi, worry and worry about him, and then slowly feel cold for him. They will interrogate the details of the case again, and finally return to the main idea: “justice lies in the heart of the people, and the law is not beyond reason!”