Crazy Racer Explained

Crazy Racer
Native Name:
Child:yes
Hide:no
Header:none
S:疯狂的赛车
T:瘋狂的賽車
P:fēngkuáng de sàichē
Director:Ning Hao
Starring:Huang Bo
Distributor:China Film Group
Runtime:110 minutes
Country:China
Language:Standard Mandarin, Various Mandarin dialects, Hokkien

Crazy Racer, also known in some countries as Silver Medalist, is a 2009 Chinese black comedy film directed and written by Ning Hao and stars Huang Bo. It was filmed mostly in the southern coastal city of Xiamen.[1]

Plot

The plot follows four seemingly separate stories that intersect and converge at points throughout the movie. It begins with the protagonist Geng Hao losing first place in a cycling race and subsequently being tricked into sponsoring an energy drink containing illegal performance-enhancing substances by corrupt businessman Li Fala, which causes him to forfeit the winnings from his silver medal. Disgraced and outlawed from ever participating again in the sport, Geng's coach suffers from a heart attack, prompting Geng to seek retribution from Li, who he believes is the cause. In the process of obtaining the money for his coach's funeral, Geng crosses the paths of local criminals, perpetually confused policemen and even Taiwanese gangsters.[2]

Cast

Reception

The film garnered mostly positive reviews from the Chinese press although it has remained relatively unknown outside of mainland China.[3]

Perry Lam of Muse praises Ning Hao's direction: 'the movie leaps from scene to scene with such an athletic deftness and comic inevitability that the many unlikely curves and switches in the plot and the same setups feel almost like the machinery of fate.'[4]

Notes and References

  1. https://variety.com/2009/film/reviews/crazy-racer-1200475318/ Review: ‘Crazy Racer’ - Variety
  2. Web site: Joshua Chaplinsky NYAFF 2010: CRAZY RACER Review . 2015-01-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150110064926/http://twitchfilm.com/2010/06/nyaff-2010-crazy-racer-review.html . 2015-01-10 . dead .
  3. http://twitchfilm.com/2010/06/nyaff-2010-crazy-racer-review.htmlNYAFF%202010:%20CRAZY%20RACER%20Review http://twitchfilm.com/2010/06/nyaff-2010-crazy-racer-review.html
  4. Lam . Perry . May 2009 . A rebuke to Hong Kong cinema . Muse Magazine . 28 . 94.