The Demo Site

If the new film CJ7 is any indication, writer-director Stephen Chow just might be Hong Kong's answer to Steven Spielberg. A sweet, funny fantasy film, it's the E.T. that Spielberg might have made if he came of age as a director in a time of CGI and, of course, providing he was weaned on a steady diet of Buster Keaton and Hong Kong action films. At the same time, it's absolutely a product of the Kung Fu Hustle helmer's cartoonishly creative storytelling, which means that Chow's latest does not seem destined to be embraced as readily as those of his stateside counterpart, even though CJ7 proves to be a singular work and a thoroughly satisfying experience.

In the film, Chow plays Ti -- a poor father who struggles to keep his son Dicky (Xu Jiao) fed, clothed and educated despite an ongoing struggle to stay employed by his fickle boss (Chi Chung Lam). Dicky is smart and possessed of plenty of self-confidence, but when he asks for a toy that Ti can't afford, his father trudges down to the junkyard to find a suitably cheap substitute. He returns with CJ7, named to invoke a superior version of the toy-store trinket that Dicky originally wanted, which at first seems like little more than a luminescent green ball. But after Dicky accidentally "activates" CJ7, he discovers that his new toy isn't merely an action figure or even a new pet, but a surprising and strangely magical solution to some of his family's problems.

Call them warnings or simply things to be aware of, but Chow's movies are not immediately for everyone, even if they are designed that way. In which case it's a good idea to know that: (a) Chinese films, even those that (in this case) ape American filmmaking techniques, follow different rhythms and storytelling traditions; and (b) the story requires a little breathing room, much as was the case with its predecessor Kung Fu Hustle, just to absorb thanks to Chow's oddball aesthetic. In other words, even given its superficial similarities to E.T. or other familiar properties, it's the sentiment that connects this film to its predecessor, not the sensibility, which means that audiences will relate to the feeling, but otherwise be able to enjoy a completely new fantasy.