You Shoot, I Shoot

In this dark Hong Kong action comedy, an unemployed hit man is hired by an eccentric acquaintance to get rid of a film director assistant. The assistant has been distributing a porno movie in which the friend once participated but, as things develop, the potential victim turns out to be a naive youngster dreaming of Hollywood. Instead of killing him, the hit man chooses to take advantage of the man's knowledge of filmmaking - in short, he asks the assistant to film his killings. You Shoot, I Shoot is a funny story, free from moral boundaries, constantly taking new, unexpected turns, all at high speed. The traditional portrait of a murderer is nowhere to be found in this film. Instead of being torn between the extremes of personality - a cold-hearted butcher or a deeply suffering nervous wreck? - the questions nagging these main characters are of a different kind. Did the ''director'' remember to turn on the camera as the hit man kills his victim? Did he capture the ''right'' horrified expression on the victim's face? The denouement, when the filmmaker is applauded by an admiring bunch of film critics, is hilarious. You Shoot, I Shoot is pure gangster satire, in sharp contrast to everyth i ng Luther ever stood for. KASPER SPERBER