Godspeed

Imbued with black humour and philosophical wisdom, Chung Mong-Hong's road-movie crime caper is a one-of-a-kind film about fate and chance encounters. Na Dow (Na Dow) is a drug mule who travels across Taiwan delivering top-quality heroin. He found the job by simply answering an ad, and his method of transporting the illegal goods is equally mundane: he hails a cab in the morning, rides it from the north of the country to the south, delivers a package, and returns in the same cab that night. These journeys and deliveries run uneventfully, until one day when nothing goes according to plan.

Is it because he met the wrong taxi driver? A middle-aged Hong Kong native who came to Taiwan some 25 years ago, Old Xu (Michael Hui) goes out of his way to be hired and, even though he's been driving all night, agrees to take Na Dow down south in hopes of making some extra cash and getting a little closer to retirement. Little does he know that he is driving straight into a highly volatile situation and his car is about to become the most highly sought-after vehicle in the country.

Godspeed is a unique, amusing, and highly entertaining film full of sharp dialogue. A fantastic showcase for revered Hong Kong actor and comedian Michael Hui, Chung's freewheeling fourth film veers from character-driven humour to nail-biting suspense, tracing its hapless characters' journey from calm to chaos.

GIOVANNA FULVI