We're Going to Eat You(MT)

We're Going to Eat You(1980) is Tsui Hark's sophomore film following his feature film debut The Butterfly Murders (1979). Set during the chaotic Republic era, during when political regimes changed and cultures mixed in a melting pot, the film follows Agent 999 (Norman Chui), a secret agent who ends up in a cannibalistic village with a small-time thief (Hon Kwok-choi) while pursuing an infamous bandit (Melvin Wong). Led by the village's soldier chief (Eddy Ko), the villagers enter a bloody conflict with Agent 999 and the thief. A classic of the Hong Kong New Wave, the film uses outlandish and bizarre images to depict a clash between barbarism and civilisation. The village in the film may be fictional, but its elements are undoubtedly familiar to Hong Kong audiences. These elements also contain a sense of humanistic care that re-examines the relationship between traditional culture and contemporary society. Tsui also uses Western film language to fuse comedy, martial arts, horror and adventure into a single film. Whether in content or form, this is an ambitious work that seeks to break past traditional genre borders.

Presented on 35mm print.