cityonfire.com | The Peeping

	The Peeping "Though Marco Mak's direction and editing are top shelf, it's the bare flesh that will likely attract viewers and draw the most attention." - Gwailo The Peeping (2002) Director: Marco Mak Chi-Sin Producer: Lawrence Wong Cast: Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Teresa Mak (Ga Kei), Yum Kong Sau, Grace Lam (Nga Si), Patrick Keung (Hiu Man), Samuel Leung (Cheuk Moon) Running Time: 93 min. Plot: Calvin, a private detective, is hired to secretly record the sexual activities life of a female politician, Kwai Fung Ming--but he falls for her during the surveillance and basically calls it quits. Rather than completing his charge, he decides to help Kwai to counterattack his employer, who had clearly hired him to discredit Kwai. However, his employer turns out to be only one of the tools in this war. Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com Reviews GWAILO'S REVIEW: Allegedly based on a true-life Taiwanese sex scandal, director Marco Mak treads late night soft core territory in the wonderfully atmospheric mystery/thriller, The Peeping. The film, while not a perfect 10, is a must see for it's amount of unabashed sex involving well known actors, Daniel Wu, Teresa Mak, and Grace Lam. I couldn't believe my eyes. While appendages, for the most part, were obscured by shadows and camera angles, the proceedings get pretty steamy, and I'm sure all on set were loving it. I was. Wu is a private dic specializing in adultery cases, were he sets up surveillance to capture cheating spouses engaging in monkey affairs. A new client, Grace Lam, hires Wu for a whopping H.K. $1 million + expenses to work abroad in Taiwan and track a high profile target, Teresa Mak, an official in the Taiwanese government. Lam asks Wu to catch her in all her sexual glory and he o.k.'s, no questions asked. He cites professional ethics. I guess it's hard to say "no" choking on a million bucks or maybe it's convenient for the plot. At any rate, more contrivances push the story forward, one, in the form of a conveniently located flat next to Mak's. Wu sets up camp, pulls up a lazy boy and begins to peep. His surveillance quickly turns into a fetish as Mak becomes the object of affection for his erection. Twists and turns and great sex scenes ensue. Though Marco Mak's direction and editing are top shelf, it's the bare flesh that will likely attract viewers and draw the most attention. These scenes include an unforgettable lesbian scene between Mak and Lam, clothes gone, tongues tied, romping on the bed with their heels still on, and a Wu/Mak sequence, doin' it till their satisfied, bordering Cat III, for 5 sweaty minutes. Yeah it's gratuitous, but who cares? The Peeping in entirety is not pat and dry and there are a few holes in the script. These shortcomings are excused of course by the films bold use of sex to further plot. If the H.K. film industry continued to make films like this, the industry would recuperate just fine. Marco Mak is once again impressive in the directors chair and shows his skill isn't just limited to shooting action scenes involving artillery. GWAILO'S RATING: 7.5/10

The Peeping

"Though Marco Mak's direction and editing are top shelf, it's the bare flesh that will likely attract viewers and draw the most attention."

- Gwailo

The Peeping (2002)

Director: Marco Mak Chi-Sin

Producer: Lawrence Wong

Cast: Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Teresa Mak (Ga Kei), Yum Kong Sau, Grace Lam (Nga Si), Patrick Keung (Hiu Man), Samuel Leung (Cheuk Moon)

Running Time: 93 min.

Plot: Calvin, a private detective, is hired to secretly record the sexual activities life of a female politician, Kwai Fung Ming--but he falls for her during the surveillance and basically calls it quits. Rather than completing his charge, he decides to help Kwai to counterattack his employer, who had clearly hired him to discredit Kwai. However, his employer turns out to be only one of the tools in this war.

Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com

Reviews

GWAILO'S REVIEW: Allegedly based on a true-life Taiwanese sex scandal, director Marco Mak treads late night soft core territory in the wonderfully atmospheric mystery/thriller, The Peeping. The film, while not a perfect 10, is a must see for it's amount of unabashed sex involving well known actors, Daniel Wu, Teresa Mak, and Grace Lam. I couldn't believe my eyes. While appendages, for the most part, were obscured by shadows and camera angles, the proceedings get pretty steamy, and I'm sure all on set were loving it. I was.

Wu is a private dic specializing in adultery cases, were he sets up surveillance to capture cheating spouses engaging in monkey affairs. A new client, Grace Lam, hires Wu for a whopping H.K. $1 million + expenses to work abroad in Taiwan and track a high profile target, Teresa Mak, an official in the Taiwanese government. Lam asks Wu to catch her in all her sexual glory and he o.k.'s, no questions asked. He cites professional ethics. I guess it's hard to say "no" choking on a million bucks or maybe it's convenient for the plot. At any rate, more contrivances push the story forward, one, in the form of a conveniently located flat next to Mak's. Wu sets up camp, pulls up a lazy boy and begins to peep. His surveillance quickly turns into a fetish as Mak becomes the object of affection for his erection. Twists and turns and great sex scenes ensue.

Though Marco Mak's direction and editing are top shelf, it's the bare flesh that will likely attract viewers and draw the most attention. These scenes include an unforgettable lesbian scene between Mak and Lam, clothes gone, tongues tied, romping on the bed with their heels still on, and a Wu/Mak sequence, doin' it till their satisfied, bordering Cat III, for 5 sweaty minutes. Yeah it's gratuitous, but who cares?

The Peeping in entirety is not pat and dry and there are a few holes in the script. These shortcomings are excused of course by the films bold use of sex to further plot. If the H.K. film industry continued to make films like this, the industry would recuperate just fine. Marco Mak is once again impressive in the directors chair and shows his skill isn't just limited to shooting action scenes involving artillery.

GWAILO'S RATING: 7.5/10