Ming On (Mad Fate)

It all starts so promisingly: the first act of Ming On teases a hardboiled, wonderfully gruesome supernatural thriller that shares DNA with Seven and takes inspiration from the visuals of Blade Runner. For a decent amount of its runtime, it delivers. But then the film struggles to stick to logic it seems to be making up as it goes along, and it all gets a bit messy. 

A masked serial killer hunts down prostitutes amongst the high rises of Hong Kong, dispatching them with admirable levels of gore (which elicited loud tuts of disapproval during the press screening). A fortuneteller and feng shui master (played by Lam Ka Tung) hurries to save a young prostitute, whose bloody death he predicted, but the killer beats him to it. Arriving upon the grisly scene is creepily thuggish food delivery driver Siu Tung (Lokman Yeung), whose inner darkness seems to be triggered by the carnage on display. 

Ming On is never dull, but is never truly coherent. Director Soi Cheang’s chaotic neo-noir may quickly veer into silliness, but viewers are unlikely to care because it’s all so stylish. As the unnamed fortuneteller realises his mission is to prevent Siu Tung from becoming the violent psychopath he’s fated to be, the film takes a buddy comedy diversion as the manically cheerful fortuneteller goads the budding maniac into being a better person. It’s all rather amusing, but makes for a feature that’s a little flabby in the middle.

Eventually Mad Fate reaches its own maddening fate, and this is where the whole experience becomes a little frustrating – as though the initial intriguing premise counted for very little. The confusingly plotted resolution may not satisfy, and is delivered with an intensity that’s dangerously close to being unintentionally funny. What’s definitely awkward (producing a few chuckles during the film’s Berlinale preview) is the film’s CGI cat, which looks strangely like a 90s screensaver. Ming On might not reach its full potential, but it has fun trying.

Oliver Johnston

Ming On (Mad Fate) does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Berlin Film Festival 2023 coverage here.

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