Synopsis
A Taiwanese drug mule has his foolproof smuggling method thrown out of whack when he catches a ride with the wrong cab driver.
Godspeed
2016 ‘一路順風’ Directed by Chung Mong-Hong
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Alternative Title
Yi lu shun feng
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Going into this adoring Chung Mong-Hong's must-watch, potent drama A Sun but hating his bewildering horror/thriller Soul, I didn't know what to expect from Godspeed. And, well...it isn't for me.
It's neither awful nor great. IMO, it's just ok - "ok" in a way that's mediocre with some solid spots sprinkled along a decent-enough story but is ultimately underwhelming.
Godspeed is a caper, cat-and-mouse thriller, and road movie mashup that feels something like a cross between an off-brand Coen Brothers and a tame Tarantino.
Perhaps the biggest sin for me is that I found this mainly unamusing. Many attempts at humor didn't land - maybe the black comedy was too dark for me to discern? As well, it's a thriller…
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March Around the World 2021--Taiwan
Tarantino by way of Taipei is how I'd describe this film. When a taxi driver gets mixed up with a drug mule, things go terribly awry. An early cameo from Vithaya Pansringarm (the stone-faced Thai badass from Only God Forgives) signals that is this going to be quite a ride. Much, much, better than I expected.
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Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017
I settled down for Godspeed not really knowing what to expect. The only image I’d seen was of two men cramped into the boot of a car holding a rubber duck and that was enough to sell it to me. It was therefore a little surprising for it to open with a man being restrained with garden sheers around his throat. Right away the tone seemed to be a shade darker than I was expecting for a film screening at 1pm in the afternoon at the festival. Even now, a week later I’m not sure entirely if I loved it or not but to its credit I’m still thinking about it now.
In Godspeed we…
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A downbeat caper about a motley crew brought together through an unlikely drug deal, Godspeed walks a fine line between absurdist black comedy and darker crime saga, and for the most part does so skilfully. The two parallel storylines don't necessarily blend together too well, and it ultimately leaves little to hang onto; but Michael Hui's gently resigned performance as the taxi driver is legitimately great.
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If you combine Hirokazu Kore-eda, Quentin Tarantino, Kar-Wai Wong, and the Brothers Coen you would not get GODSPEED. Parallels are not influences. GODSPEED director and cinematographer(as Nagao Nakashima) Mong-Hong Chung may well not consider any of the above as influences. I mention this handful of directors because in viewing GODSPEED for the second time I saw parallels to their work and that of many other noted directors. GODSPEED is a smorgasbord. I have already begun watching it for a third time. If I do not finish today, I will finish sometime soon. It's like that. Happy Hunting.
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What a genre masterpiece. Such brilliant actors and a beautiful score.
This is available ok Tubi India. Do watch it!!!! -
Film #6 of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017.
When the EIFF guide described this as "a deliciously dark and and often very amusing story" they pretty much nailed it on the head. Despite these words I went in perhaps expecting it ro be funnier and not as dark, I was wrong. While there was much amusement to be had and the interplay between the two leads was fantastic, this film managed to go pretty damn dark at times. To be honest I actually think that this ended up hurting the film a bit. The lighter side worked far better for me and when it did go dark it took away from the enjoyment I was having.
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Because Godspeed wasn't the upbeat lighthearted Hui-comedy I expected, I was often taken with it's harshness, it's oppressive emptiness, and the creeping dread that goes along with it. But long uncomfortable car rides slowly turn into enjoyable ones. Nothing beats a nice warm meal after an exhaustive night ride.
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Godspeed ist ein toller Mix aus Gangsterdrama, Roadmovie und schwarzer Komödie. Dazu bietet der Film einfach tolle Bilder, eine gute Erzählweise, wobei der Film ein eher gemächliches Tempo hat, mir aber nie langweilig erschien. Und der Soundtrack (gerade zu Beginn und zum Ende hin) ist ebenso toll. Jetzt will ich auch die anderen Filme von Chung Mong-Hong sehen.
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Godspeed is a great mix of gangster drama, road movie and black comedy. In addition, the movie offers great pictures, a good narrative style, whereby the movie has a rather leisurely pace, but never seemed boring to me. And the soundtrack (especially at the beginning and at the end) is just as great. Now I want to see the other films by Chung Mong-Hong, too. -
A dark comedy that reminds me of a live action Cowboy Bebop episode. Death, money, losers, big shots...the overlapping storylines are all played with a sense of existential gloom and humor.
Leon Dai has a strong presence and delivers hilarious lines with such intensity that it just adds to the film’s dark comedy appeal. The comedic duo Mike Hui and Lin Yu-Chih works because they do not play for laughs. They play pathetic and they play it so well, you can’t help but have empathy for them.
Lin’s character could’ve been developed more and an accident towards the end seems pointless (thus the Bebop feel). Regardless, a good experience. Makes you want to eat 小籠包。