From Beijing with Love 國產淩淩漆 (1994): Why You Should Watch This Chinese-Language (Cantonese) Film
In 1994, a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull was stolen. A former secret agent who had been selling pork for ten years was urgently recalled.
This is From Beijing with Love.
Stephen Chow's directorial debut — a tribute — or rather, a parody — of the James Bond series. The film was banned from release in mainland China due to its "defamation of the image of people's police," as well as its elements of absurdist humor, dark satire, and violence. It wasn't until the spread of internet culture after 2000 that the film found a new audience — albeit in heavily censored form.
Despite this, it remains one of Stephen Chow's most distinctive works. With a Douban score of 8.3, it ranks among the top three of Chow's films in the hearts of many fans.
Today, I want to talk about this film — arguably "the best James Bond film ever made in Hong Kong" — and why it remains unparalleled to this day.
Part One: A Pork-Selling James Bond
The story is simple.
Ling Ling Qi (Stephen Chow) is a reserve agent who, after years of being abandoned by his superiors, has become a pork stall vendor. His daily routine consists of cutting pork, drinking Dry Martini (shaken, not stirred), and dealing with complaints from local sex workers about unpaid debts.
One day, the priceless Tyrannosaurus Rex skull is stolen by the Golden Gunman (Wong Kam-kong). A southern general decides to send Ling Ling Qi to Hong Kong on a mission to retrieve it.
Meeting him there are his long-lost partner Tat (Law Ga-ying) — a mad scientist who has invented the "solar-powered flashlight" and the "super spy chair" — and their Hong Kong contact, Li Hsiang Chin (Anita Yuen), a female assassin who has been ordered to kill Qi.
"Only failure is permitted. Success is not allowed." This is the organization's only requirement.
And so Ling Ling Qi sets off.
No proper equipment. No backup. Only a suitcase full of unreliable "high-tech gadgets" — a hairdryer that doubles as an electric razor, an electric razor that doubles as a hairdryer, shoes that are also electric razors. And a meat cleaver.
But he goes anyway.
Because he has waited ten years. "I thought the country had forgotten about me."
The commander replies: "How could that be? Even a pair of underwear, a piece of toilet paper, has its use."
Part Two: The Lines That Never Go Out of Style
The reason From Beijing with Love is constantly revisited is largely due to its dialogue. Stephen Chow's films are always filled with memorable lines, but this one has an especially high density of classics.
"You are such a flashy man"
Early in the film, a sex worker shows up at Qi's pork stall demanding payment for a night's services. She looks at this man and delivers the following classic line:
"You are such a flashy man. Wherever you go, like a firefly in the pitch-black night, you are that bright, that outstanding. Your melancholic eyes, your stubbly beard shadow, your supernatural knife skills, and that cup of Dry Martini — they all deeply fascinate me."
This line has since been quoted and adapted countless times. It is both a precise description of Ling Ling Qi's character and a perfect illustration of Stephen Chow's mo lei tau absurdist comedy — using extremely formal language to describe an extremely absurd subject.
"I thought we had feelings — I didn't expect it to be just a transaction"
When the sex worker demands payment, Qi laments:
"I thought with the bond between us, we could appeal to emotion. I didn't expect it to be just a transaction."
This line has since become a universal quote in workplace and social settings. It satirizes the naked exchange of interests in human relationships — where even a one-night stand has a price tag, where even a partner from ten years ago might betray you at any moment.
"Please call me by my full name"
Law Ga-ying's entrance scene features one of the film's most classic exchanges:
Tat: "Qi!" Qi: "Tat." Tat: "I prefer you to call me by my full name — Big Tat." Qi: "No problem, Tat." Tat: "Thank you." Qi: "You're welcome, Tat."
Wordplay. Identity dislocation. Absurdist logic. In just a few lines, this scene encapsulates the essence of Stephen Chow's comedy. No later film of his ever matched the intricacy of this exchange.
"Guan Yu removed an arrow from his arm while playing chess. Ling Ling Qi removes a bullet while watching a porn film."
The film's most iconic and absurd scene comes after Qi is shot.
Li Hsiang Chin helps remove the bullet and asks if he needs anesthesia. Thinking it's a good idea, Qi pulls out a videotape — Spring Tide, Brilliant Red, Crabapple Blossom — and asks her to play it.
So he undergoes surgery while watching pornography.
After the bullet is removed, he delivers his verdict:
"Guan Yu, fully focused, removed an arrow from his arm while playing chess. Ling Ling Qi, fully concentrated, removes a bullet while watching a porn film."
It's absurd. But within that absurdity hides something oddly tender and romantic.
"Even a pair of underwear, a piece of toilet paper, has its use"
The commander's words of comfort to Qi have since become a classic internet meme. It's both dark humor and brutal truth — in this system, everyone is a tool.
"My might shakes heaven and earth"
Qi and Tat's secret code is a line from the poem of Xiang Yu, the Conqueror of Western Chu:
"My might shakes heaven and earth." "But fate is against me and my swift horse won't run."
Using such a serious historical verse as the code for two "loser" agents — this is Stephen Chow's absurdist genius: placing the high and low, the elegant and vulgar side by side, making you laugh and then leaving you with something to think about.
Part Three: The Melancholy Beneath the Absurdity
Stephen Chow's comedies have never been just comedies.
Some say there are three types of comedy actors: the first makes you laugh while watching but leaves your mind empty afterward; the second makes you laugh with a hint of bitterness; the third hides profound sorrow beneath the laughter, wrapping a bleak spiritual core in dense punchlines.
Stephen Chow is the third.
From Beijing with Love is the ultimate expression of this style.
Ling Ling Qi appears to be a loser. He was abandoned by his country for ten years, wasting away at a pork stall. But deep down, he has always believed he is a secret agent. He wears a suit. He drinks Martini. He smokes. He maintains his melancholy gaze — even while everyone around him laughs.
When he saves Li Hsiang Chin with a flying knife in the shopping mall. When he calmly faces execution, using "guanxi" and "bribery" to save his life. When he finally splits the Golden Gunman's weapon in two with his meat cleaver —
In that moment, we no longer see a loser.
We see an ordinary man abandoned by his era, fighting back against fate in his own way.
"What I've lost, I will take back with my own hands."
That line belongs to Mark Gor — but Ling Ling Qi deserves it too.
Part Four: Why It's the Best James Bond Parody Ever
Western critic Moria called From Beijing with Love "the best James Bond parody ever made" — ten times funnier than Austin Powers.
The reason is simple:
It understands Bond, but it doesn't bow to Bond.
Qi's gadgets are all useless — but his meat cleaver is more effective than any high-tech weapon. The final showdown: the Golden Gunman raises his golden gun; Qi raises his meat cleaver. Classical cold steel splits the symbol of industrial civilization.
One critic summed it up perfectly: "What could be more satisfying than a classical meat cleaver splitting a symbol of industrial capitalism?"
It allows its hero to be imperfect
Ling Ling Qi is not a traditional hero. He is greedy, lecherous, lazy — but at his core, he is kind. When Li Hsiang Chin shoots him, he doesn't take revenge. He just slams the door behind him after retrieving the bullet.
This imperfection makes the character feel real.
It has a tender heart
The film's most touching scene comes when Qi, on his mission, takes a bullet while trying to pick a single white rose for Li Hsiang Chin.
The white rose, stained with his blood, slowly turns red. He hands it to her. He says nothing.
The scene is understated, gentle, restrained — standing in stark contrast to the film's absurdist humor. It is precisely this contrast that elevates From Beijing with Love beyond mere comedy.
Part Five: Details You Might Have Missed
The words on the meat cleaver
At the end, the cleaver is inscribed with: "National Hero — Presented by Deng." This joke, today, might not pass censorship.
The black comedy of the execution ground
Ling Ling Qi and "Floating Legs Shang" face a firing squad together. Floating Legs attempts to escape using his martial arts — only to be blown up by a rocket launcher. Qi shouts into the smoke: "Nice shot! Oh yeah!"
This is the ultimate subversion of death — using revelry to dissolve fear.
The piano scene
Qi plays the piano and sings a song by Li Xianglan — the famed Japanese-born Chinese singer. He says to Li Hsiang Chin: "I'm going to sing your mother's song." Swearing wrapped in a joke — vulgar, yet sophisticated.
Final Thoughts
From Beijing with Love is not Stephen Chow's highest-grossing film, nor his highest-rated, nor even his most "Stephen Chow" film.
But it might be his freest.
In 1994, Chow was at his peak. He no longer needed to please anyone. He no longer needed to prove anything. This was his first film as a co-director — his first complete creative control.
He stuffed everything he wanted to say — everything he wanted to satirize, to subvert — into this film.
From Beijing with Love is the moment Stephen Chow's style truly came into focus.
It's not an easy film. It's not a "feel-good" film. But every time I revisit it, it reminds me of one thing: even in the most absurd circumstances, even when everyone else sees you as a loser — as long as you still believe, you are never completely useless.
As the commander said:
"Even a pair of underwear, a piece of toilet paper, has its use."
We are all people abandoned by our times. But we are all still waiting for a mission. We are all still sharpening our blades.
And on that blade, we should carve our own names.
"The 'Fei' is Little Li Flying Dagger's 'Fei.' The 'Dao' is Little Li Flying Dagger's 'Dao.'"
Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬
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