{"id":64487,"date":"2026-06-28T19:14:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T11:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=64487"},"modified":"2026-06-28T19:14:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T11:14:51","slug":"how-johnnie-tos-running-on-karma-with-andy-lau-was-a-dark-buddhist-tragedy-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=64487","title":{"rendered":"How Johnnie To\u2019s Running on Karma with Andy Lau was a dark Buddhist tragedy in disguise"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The 2003 film Running on Karma<\/em> is an eccentric blend of police procedural, spirituality and mysticism that marks Hong Kong film director Johnnie To Kei-fung<\/span> and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-fai<\/span>\u2019s first foray into self-consciously \u201cartistic\u201d cinema \u2013 and it remains an engrossing watch today.<\/div>\n
While the storyline is less esoteric than Throw Down<\/em><\/span> (2004), it remains an ambitious project, packed with the unusual characters and situations for which To was becoming known. Although he had already established himself as an auteur with innovative late-1990s crime thrillers such as The Mission<\/em><\/span> (1999), Running on Karma<\/em> was entirely different.<\/div>\n
\u201cMystery, murder, humour, action, special effects, plus Buddhism and Andy Lau [Tak-wah]<\/span> in a muscular body suit \u2013 Running on Karma<\/em> is nothing if not ambitious,\u201d noted critic Paul Fonoroff in his review in the South China Morning Post.<\/div>\n

Comedy in disguise?<\/h3>\n
To\u2019s nifty 2001 comedy Love on a Diet<\/em><\/span> featured matinee idol Lau playing against type in a \u201cfat suit\u201d \u2013 a prosthetic costume making him appear severely overweight. Early promotions for Running on Karma<\/em> showed Lau in a similar costume, leading many to expect a cheery sequel, only to be disappointed by the strange, serious film they encountered.<\/div>\n
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RUNNING ON KARMA Original Theatrical Trailer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWai Ka-fai and I initially conceived Running on Karma<\/em> as a commercial film \u2013 to have Andy Lau doing comedy with the special effects make-up,\u201d To told the Far East Film Festival\u2019s Tim Youngs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, after making a string of comedies in 2001 and 2002, and with the market flooded with films of a similar genre, we decided to shift our direction \u2013 to make films that are more drama-based and hopefully equally entertaining for the audience,\u201d To said.<\/p>\n

This time, the prosthesis was an unfeasibly muscular superhero suit for Lau\u2019s character, Big. As with Love on a Diet<\/em>, To hired the Hollywood special effects company Edge FX. Although the company had never made a muscle suit before, the results were impressive, with seven different versions used in the finished film.<\/p>\n

The weight of past lives<\/h3>\n
Wai and his screenwriting team built an interesting backstory to drive the plot. We first meet Big working as a male stripper in an illegal underground club \u2013 apparently living up to his name \u2013 where undercover police officer Lee (Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi<\/span>) arrests him, despite enthusiastically enjoying the show.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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