Crazy Racer, also known in some countries as Silver Medalist, is a 2009 Chinese black comedy film directed and written by Ning Hao and stars Huang Bo. It was filmed mostly in the southern coastal city of Xiamen.[1]

Crazy Racer
Traditional Chinese瘋狂的賽車
Simplified Chinese疯狂的赛车
Hanyu Pinyinfēngkuáng de sàichē
Directed byNing Hao
Written byNing Hao
StarringHuang Bo
Distributed byChina Film Group
Release date
  • 20 January 2009 (2009-01-20)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesStandard Mandarin
Various Mandarin dialects
Hokkien

Plot

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The plot follows four seemingly separate stories that intersect and converge at points throughout the movie. It begins with the protagonist Geng Hao losing first place in a cycling race and subsequently being tricked into sponsoring an energy drink containing illegal performance-enhancing substances by corrupt businessman Li Fala, which causes him to forfeit the winnings from his silver medal. Disgraced and outlawed from ever participating again in the sport, Geng's coach suffers from a heart attack, prompting Geng to seek retribution from Li, who he believes is the cause. In the process of obtaining the money for his coach's funeral, Geng crosses the paths of local criminals, perpetually confused policemen and even Taiwanese gangsters.[2]

Cast

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Reception

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The film garnered mostly positive reviews from the Chinese press although it has remained relatively unknown outside of mainland China.[3]

Perry Lam of Muse praises Ning Hao's direction: 'the movie leaps from scene to scene with such an athletic deftness and comic inevitability that the many unlikely curves and switches in the plot and the same setups feel almost like the machinery of fate.'[4]

References

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  1. ^ Review: ‘Crazy Racer’ - Variety
  2. ^ "Joshua Chaplinsky NYAFF 2010: CRAZY RACER Review". Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  3. ^ http://twitchfilm.com/2010/06/nyaff-2010-crazy-racer-review.html[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Lam, Perry (May 2009). "A rebuke to Hong Kong cinema". Muse Magazine (28): 94.
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