Hong Kong immigrant filmmaker Wayne Wang is best known for films like his indie breakout “Chan Is Missing” or his break into Hollywood filmmaking with Amy Tan’s “Joy Luck Club” adaptation.
But he stoked controversy in 1990 when his crime drama “Life Is Cheap… But Toilet Paper Is Expensive” earned an X rating from the then-mpaa.Its distributor rejected that rating and released it unrated, with critics including Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert applauding that decision and praising its merits as greater than the sum of its controversies.
Still, the film’s graphic footage, while politically motivated, subverts audience expectations of sex and violence.Structured around a neo-noir set-up — smoky rooms, mob bosses, and a femme fatale abound — “Life Is Cheap” melds guerrilla docu-fiction with political urgency.
Not to mention the vivid imagery courtesy of Dp Amir Mokri, who has since worked on films including the “Transformers” and “Bad Boys” franchises.
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