" a man is not a man without eight taels of gold . " starring sammo hung , sylvia chang ; directed by mabel cheung ; written by cheung and alex law ; cinematography by bill wong eight taels of gold begins as a fish out of water story and at some point becomes a love story involving two people whose past choices prevent the fruition of their love . neither aspect of the movie is entirely successful , but both are good enough . and along the way there is one perfect scene , which is one more than you find in most films . slim ( played by portly sammo hung , better known as a star and director of hong kong action movies ) is a chinese immigrant who drives a yellow cab in new york . when the movie opens , we see him shouting obscenities at another taxi driver . he does not seem particularly out of place . in fact , he is about to return to visit his home in rural china for the first time in sixteen years , spending most of his life savings in the process , and it is there that he will become the proverbial fish out of water , as he realizes that you can never go home . he brings with him some statue of liberty cigarette lighters , cheap sunglasses , and lobsters ( which have to be large , to prove they're american ) --the tokens of his success . he also wears a gold chain and a gold watch , because without eight taels of gold , a man is not a man ( my dictionary tells me that taels are a unit of weight used in the far east , and i assume the phrase is a chinese proverb ) . he loses most of this stuff--except the gold--when his van crashes into a river and he has to hitch a ride , so to speak , on a raft along the river which runs past his parents' village . when he arrives unannounced , he almost induces cardiac arrest in his father . all of this has the makings of a routine comedy , and the movie has its amusing moments , as when the villagers take turns giving slim gifts during a celebration of his homecoming , and they all give him birds , so by evening's end he is surrounded by turkeys , ducks , geese and other sundry fowl . but eight taels is not a comedy--it is a sad , sweet story about the choices people make , and how they are sometimes irreparable . director mabel cheung ( an autumn's tale , the soong sisters ) sees clearly what it is like to have lived half of your life in one country and half in a country on the other side of the world--what it is like to no longer have a place to call home . slim does not belong in china , nor does he belong in america , where he can barely speak the language . seeing water buffalo in the fields and rafts poled down the river and fireworks exploding gloriously in the sky over a small village , we come to know the world slim left behind , and it seems as if he too is knowing it for the first time , and wishes it felt more like home . the condition of the expatriate is eloquently portrayed ; i , being one , was sympathetic . on his way to his parent's village , slim hooks up with jenny ( sylvia chang ) , whom he knew when she was a girl nicknamed odds-and-ends , which is what he continues to call her , although she is now a mature , professional , attractive woman , to be married in the spring to an american-chinese man . slim and odds-and-ends fall for each other . that's predictable . the manner in which their ( non- ) romance is played out is not . the emotions involved are adult and complex , and the film avoids cheap solutions to their dilemma . it's typical , for instance , that the fianc ? in this sort of plot be a colossal jerk , because it makes it easier to empathize with the unrequited lover . but here the fianc ? is a decent , ordinary guy , and although slim would like to feel anger , he cannot . the fianc ? has done nothing wrong ; the situation is the result of bad luck or bad decisions , take your pick . eight taels has its share of flaws ( the early sequences in america and on the plane to china are especially weak ) , but it compensates with insight . when odds-and-ends tells slim that her future husband wants to move to san francisco , she notes resignedly , " it's all the same . wherever we go , we'll be in chinatown , " and her straightforward statement expresses much . there is insight , too , in the understanding of the consequences of slim and odds-and-ends' decisions : he to move to america , she to marry a chinese-american . both their choices were perhaps born of impatience , perhaps of a sense that the grass is always greener--and it turns out that both choices were wrong . but they cannot undo them ; they must live with what they have done . such is life . the movie is tender toward these people , but it offers no false comforts . everything that is right and true about eight taels comes together in one great scene , which is the culmination of the love story . slim and odds-and-ends sit in a secluded spot and talk hesitantly , with the muted pop-pop of fireworks exploding in the night behind them , and it seems the conversation will lead to a kiss . the exchange that follows , and what slim then does , is poignant and perfect : with clarity and understatement , we see two people's lives , their heartbreaks and virtues , summed up in a single moment . yes , the film is flawed , but moments like that justify most of its inadequacies .
