''Running on Karma'' (), also known as ''An Intelligent Muscle Man'', is a 2003 Hong Kong action

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

produced and directed by Johnnie To and

Wai Ka-fai Wai Ka-Fai (born 21 September 1962) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, producer, film director, and former TV screenwriter and producer. Wai is best known for his frequent collaborations with Johnnie To, another former TV turned film director and pr ...

. The film is ultimately a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

parable about the nature of

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

. There were some cuts in the

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

edition to meet the requirements for release there. This is the second film starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

in which he wears a prosthetic suit. In his previous film, ''

Love on a Diet ''Love on a Diet'' () is a 2001 Hong Kong romantic comedy film produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. The film reunites Lau and Cheng, who last paired up in 2000's '' Needing You...''. For the ...

'', he wore a

fat suit A fatsuit, also known as a fat suit or a fat-suit, is a bodysuit-like undergarment used to thicken the appearance of an actress or actor of light to medium build into an overweight or obese character, in conjunction with prosthetic makeup. Fatsui ...

, while in this film, he wears a muscle suit.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began from March to July 2003, though filming was interrupted in April due to the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

pandemic. ''Running on Karma'' was a critical and commercial success, grossing HK$26,339,848 at the Hong Kong box office, making it the third-highest grossing film of the year in the territory, and received 13 nominations at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards, winning

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Lau, who wins the award for the second time after being awarded for his performance in '' Running Out of Time'' in 2000. In addition, Lau's performance in the film also won him the

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards () are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society The Hong Kong Film Critics Society (HKFCS; Traditional Chinese: 香港電影評論學會), founded in 1995, is the peak organization of ...

for Best Actor and the

Chinese Film Media Awards Chinese Film Media Awards (华语电影传媒大奖) are presented by '' Southern Metropolis Daily'' annually to honor excellence in Chinese-language cinema. Though based in mainland China, the awards are open to Chinese-language films from Hong Kon ...

for Best Actor of the Hong Kong/Taiwan region.

Plot

Big (

) was a Buddhist Monk, but he gave up this occupation when he realized he could see a person's past life, which would mean he would be able to predict what would happen to that person because of Karma. Big then became a bodybuilder and worked in a strip bar when he ran into Lee Fung-yee ( Cecilia Cheung). Lee was working as an undercover cop in the

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

which busted Big in his strip show, but Big became entangled in another police case to catch a murderer when he tried to escape. While Big was running away from Lee's pursuit, he saw a police dog and has visions of the dog's previous life. The dog was previously a child who beat up dogs, and the dog was shot by a stray bullet meant for the criminal. This was the first time that Big showed his ability to see the past, and later saw the past life of Lee, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

soldier killing civilians. Big (after realizing that Lee was kind-hearted), decided to help her in the investigation of a homicide, but also swore to leave her after they solved the case. After Big had inspected the corpse, he saw the deceased's previous life. The deceased had betrayed the murderer in his previous life and hence killed by him in this life. Big also saw that in the previous life of the murderer, before the murderer died, he cut off a one-horn beetle's left arm and hence deduced that in the current life, there would be someone without a left arm who would help to find the present murderer. Big successfully helped the police to arrest the murderer and saved Lee's life in the process as well. Her karma gets broken as well but subsequently returned, as seen through Big's vision. He also stopped an angry police sergeant who was beating the murderer by saying to him, "One thought Heaven, One thought Hell" (). Lee, now realizing that she was, in her previous life, a Japanese soldier, made efforts to compensate for the atrocities she committed in her previous life. Deciding to repay Big before she dies, Lee decided to find Big's childhood friend's killer, and she thinks the killer is hiding in the mountains somewhere. She went to the mountains and on the sixth day of her journey, she encounters the killer at a part of the mountains where Big never went to find his friend's killer. The killer runs away from her while she tries to help him. Then, the killer comes behind her, and drags her to a rocky place where she was hit by a rock in the head, and beheaded by the murderer. The whole incident was recorded by her video camera. The video camera was retrieved after a search party to look for her. Big saw the video after a police officer showed it to him and he gets angry and goes to the mountains. When he was on the mountains, he heard Lee's watch. He followed the sound to her buried body in the ground and her head in a tree. He became enraged and pursued a man, presuming he is Lee's killer into an underground temple. Big, expecting to find the killer in the temple but found his future self, a killer, bloodthirsty and vengeful. They argued and fought and came to terms peacefully in meditation. Big becomes a monk again and lives on the mountain. After five years, he meets his childhood friend's killer again, and in forgiveness, escorts him kindly to the police. In the end, at the "place where Big couldn't jump over," we see the positive karma that Lee cultivated and radiated ultimately saved Big. Hilary Hongjin He, a doctoral student at the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

, wrote that the version of the film released in Mainland China stated that the editing, required by Mainland authorities, was "substantial" to the point where it "fundamentally degraded the philosophical, thought-provoking movie to a senseless commercial film selling stars and special effects make-up".

Cast

as Big * Cecilia Cheung as Inspector Lee Fung-yee * Cheung Siu-fai as Inspector Chung * Karen Tong as Woman whose left arm got shot off * Chun Wong as Lee's superior officer * Wong Wa-wo as Lee's colleague * Hon Kwok-choi as Slippery thief * Yuen Bun as Chef * Yu Wenzhong as Master Wu * Hou Liansheng as Master Wen * He Shengwei * Zhang Meng as Jade * Wong Chi-wai as Big's drinking friend * So Wai-nam as CID * Eddie Che as CID * Frank Liu as CID * Ho Chung-wai as CID * Vincent Chik as CID * Lam Kwok-kit as CID * Hon Ping as Four Eyes * Wong Chun-fai as Boxing commentator * Tam Tin-po * Wong Man-chun as Policeman * Cash Lee

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
''Running on Karma''
at LoveHKFilm.com * {{Best Film HKFA 2003 films 2003 action films 2003 martial arts films 2003 action thriller films Hong Kong action thriller films Hong Kong martial arts films Kung fu films Wushu films Best Film HKFA 2000s Cantonese-language films China Star Entertainment Group films Milkyway Image films Films directed by Johnnie To Films directed by Wai Ka-Fai Films about reincarnation Films about Buddhism Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films with screenplays by Yau Nai-hoi Films with screenplays by Wai Ka-fai Mount Wutai 2000s Hong Kong films

Plot

Cast

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links