Shuang tong (2002)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Kuo-fu Chen

Writers:

Kuo-fu Chen (writer)
Chao-Bin Su (writer)

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There Is Only What You Believe.

Plot:

An FBI Agent pairs with a troubled Taiwan cop to hunt for a serial killer who's embedding a mysterious fungus in the brains of victims. |

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Taiwan | Serial Killer | Karma | Taoism

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Huang Huo-tu
David Morse	...	Kevin Richter
Rene Liu	...	Ching-fang
Leon Dai	...	Li Feng-bo
Kuei-Mei Yang	...	Coroner
Sihung Lung	...	Taoist Expert
Brett Climo	...	Serial Killer
Wei-Han Huang	...	Mei-Mei
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Han Chang	...	Detective Chang
Han Lin
David Newell	...	FBI Agent
David Ross Paterson	...	FBI Agent (as David Paterson)
Doug Penty	...	CNN Journalist

Also Known As:

Double Vision (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore.

Runtime:

Argentina:112 min | France:110 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Japan:113 min

Country:

Taiwan | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Hokkien | English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-18 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:15 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Australia:R | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia

Trivia:

The shot of Ching-fang (Rene Liu) riding the scooter with her daughter required 27 takes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Double Vision' (2002) (TV)

Worth Viewing

I am not a devotee of Hong Kong or Asian movies. What initially attracted my attention to Double Vision was the presence of David Morse. Over the years he seems to have had a knack for showing up in interesting, if offbeat, films. This movie is no exception to that pattern. The acting of the leads is good to above average. I don't want to duplicate the comments expressed so well by others. Let me just say that I concur with the general opinion that the film goes offtrack in the third act. Up to that point it relied on the characters of the leads and exposition on Taoism. After that point it veered off into supernatural confusion. However, all in all, worth the viewing.