Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 1,804
Simon Yam and Kelly Lin star in director Johnnie To's tale of three professional pickpockets, one mysterious beauty, and the elusive key that brings them all together. It's title taken from a street slang term describing the unique dexterity needed to lift wallets and flutter away undetected, Sparrow opens as Kei and his three partners in crime gingerly fleece unsuspecting strangers on the overcrowded streets of Hong Kong. The money Kei makes from this low-level criminal endeavor is plenty
Feb 11, 2008 Wide
Videorama
All Critics (15) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (1)
An action film without guns or even that much violence, it unfurls like an elegant ballet.
Has a feather-light plot that flies in the face of credibility, but contains all the right components for an entertaining hit, like gracefully choreographed action sequences by martial arts veteran Yuen Biao, and a well-assembled cast.
Yam's easy charm holds the pic together, and supports are are all solid, with Lam standing out among the sparrows and the Mandarin-speaking Lin fine as the skittish but crafty Chun-lei.
A beautifully made, deliberately puzzling thriller...
The slow-burn of a cigarette in a lip-glossed mouth, the languid sprawl of Hong Kong, and a jazzy, bluesy soundtrack give this Cantonese drama an arty insouciance.
Clearly a labour of love.
It's a sprightly comedy caper about a pickpocket gang that pays eccentric homage to French cinema.
Has all the lyricism, fluency and precision of a musical.
Pretty, energetic, funny.
While Sparrow has done without the realism and darkness of To's previous movies, it still excites and engages in different ways. It's something unique, a fusion of styles and cultures that you rarely find in cinema.
The brisk directorial sleight-of-hand that dominates Sparrow might leave you somewhat bewildered, but you will be too awestruck by its cool craftsmanship to feel in any way robbed.
Plays out with the light energy of a dance for most of its brisk running time.
Some of the scenes in this gentle romantic pickpocketing yarn are pure cinematic pleasure, but in the end the plot and the characters are too thin to turn a series of delightfully stylised setpieces into a fully satisfying film.
To's touch is airy light, buoyed by a jazzy score and an especially charming performance by To regular Yam.
It flies where it will, ever joyous and blissful.
Quite slow and not the easiest to follow, but the scene at the end with no speaking is very well done and makes the movie worth a look. Also very nicely filmed street shots and I liked the black and white photography.
September 29, 2009Super Reviewer
To never fails to bring a smile to my face, even when the plot is not making a lot of sense. Simon Yam has more charisma, screen persona and acting skills than all hollywood put together. Also, weird to see Ka Tung Lam not playing a villian.
December 30, 2008
Super Reviewer
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