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When it was originally released in 1999, Purple Storm was a high-tech, high-quality, and highly praised production that stood apart from the Hong Kong releases of that year. It seemed such a natural for screening in Japan along with the other countries outside of Hong Kong that were showing it in their theaters. But the days, then weeks, then months were rolling by with no information of a Japan release..... We were disappointed to see that the Tokyo International Film Festival came and went with nothing more about Purple Storm than some scenes of it displayed in a small photo gallery of one theater lobby (fortunately, a couple of the best shots featured Officer Ma!). Yet other films of no greater merit were being showcased with a few of their stars facing crowds of Japanese fans at press conferences. |
A likely reason for the delay was Tokyo's own tragic incident:
The sarin gas attack on the city's subway system by the doomsday
cult Aum Shinrikyo in 1995. The deadly act occurred one morning during
the busy rush hour in a simultaneous assault at several locations,
where sealed packs of the poison gas were carried into subway
cars and stations then pierced with an umbrella before the perpetrators'
escape. Those evil assaults caused twelve deaths, thousands of
injuries, and a deep social trauma that will linger for years
to come. Criminal proceedings and convictions were typically
slow, and the cult leader Shoko Asahara (born Chizuo Matsumoto) was finally given a sentence
of death by the Japanese court on Friday, February 27, 2004,
eight years after his trial began..... Thus, the timing of Purple
Storm's Japan debut was rather unfortunate. The film is such
a fine piece of work that it would have been a very valuable
tool for promoting its stars in the Japanese market. However,
the film's — and the actors' — chance for prompt and
deserved recognition in Japan was probably denied to them by
the Tokyo tragedy of the sarin gas attack four years earlier. |
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So, there was nothing to do but wait a year..... and another year (thank heavens for the DVD!)..... and another year..... Until our patience was rewarded: in mid-November 2002, Purple Storm finally blew into Japan! The film was screened at the Kineca, a small cinema specializing in Asian films on the top floor of the Seiyu department store in the Tokyo suburb of Omori. It was older but cozy, with comfy seats, a nice sound system, and the screen positioned high for an unobstructed view. Showings were planned for up north in Sapporo and down south in Osaka as well. A pretty limited release, but it's a start! |
| As expected, the film's promoters had placed the spotlight squarely on the young Daniel Wu, whom they'd understandably judged to be the most visible and recognizable star of the cast in Japan. On the film's Japanese-language website, Joan Chen was second-billed as the next best-known face. Frankly, I think that this role is still one of the best that Daniel has performed in his career. He appeared very natural and convincing as the tormented Todd, and his performance as a terrorist was a far sight better than his subsequent portrayal of the rookie reporter Peter in Nam Yin's Headlines, released in Spring 2001. Part of that was due, however, to the difference in the caliber of the two films. |
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| Emil Chau's profile was listed third after the Kam Kwok-Leung bio, followed by Josie Ho and Joan Chen as fourth and fifth. Daniel Wu's stats were positioned at the top of the list. |
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ATF Chief Ma Li was so central to the plot of Purple Storm that the Japan Emil Chau Friends Club took the initiative to provide a bit of extra "grass roots" publicity about Wakin and about the fan club itself. They arranged to have an autograph board, a Wakin biography/filmography, some candid photos with captions, and a couple of club newsletters displayed on a mirrored wall in the theater lobby. o |
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Wakin had signed
this board for the J-Club in anticipation of his film's debut
in Japan. And his Japanese skill is improving! He used the Japanese
character |
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 Of course we
were on the lookout that day for any evidence of Wakin Chau publicity
outside of the movie itself. The J-club effort was gratifying
to see. But was there possibly anything more? We scouted around
the theater lobby. I noticed that the counter where I'd bought
the Purple Storm brochure had a glass display case beneath
it containing a small assortment of items for sale, mainly several
types of old and new fan magazines featuring Daniel Wu. However,
a careful look-through of that case revealed something special
propped up against the wall at the very back.... It was this
September 1988 issue of the Ming Xing "Bright Star"
celebrity magazine — and look who's on the cover! We've
seen that expression before, haven't we? Heh heh! |
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This magazine is a nice treasure because it was published right when Wakin's star was on the rise! And since his star is still shining so brightly 14 years later, I continue to hope that someday he'll get a foot in the door of Japan.... A. Kurita, WWS 11-27-02 |
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hough we'd naturally
snapped up the DVD as soon as it came out, we'd long been hoping
to see Teddy Chen's 1999 spectacular Purple Storm on the big screen of a public
theater, where it belongs. Our opportunity finally came on November
16, 2002, the day of its public debut in Japan!
("no") for "of"
instead of 
("de") when he wrote
his Chinese message that says "I am Ma Li of 'Purple Storm'!!
Chau Wakin 2002." It's cute ne!
This is only
the second magazine showing Wakin on the cover that I've come
across in Japan so far; the first was the 
So I bought it on the spot for ¥1,200. Later we found that
just a few pics of an unfamiliar female singer had been cut out
of a couple of pages, but everything else is intact, including
the pages about Wakin.){kind=link}