Review of School on Fire

School On Fire(1988) is a dark, brutal and shocking film from Hong Kong's "docu-drama" director Ringo Lam. This film was meant to be damning expose of the Hong Kong school system and what the future consequences might be if it doesn't get it's act straight. But the censor board whittled away most of the school scenes and kept most of the violent and exploitive subject matter. Even though the film was heavily cut, it's impact is strong. Ching-Ying Lam (MR. Vampire) and Leung Kwong Wong (Ringo Lam regular) play cops that try to topple a local triad boss Roy Cheung (another Ringo Lam regular) with the help of a victimized school girl (Fennie Yuen) and 70's H.K. kung-fu star Damian Lau co-stars as a teacher with morals who risks his job and life to defend his students from the triads and themselves. The direction and style is raw and gritty, it fits perfectly with the subject matter. You can find Ringo Lam's trademark bloody,bone crunching fights and action set pieces along with the usual fine performances from all of the actors. It's a truly depressing and heart wrenching film.

This movie is hard to find. I strongly recommend it and the other "on Fire" films.

Highly Recommended