Shou juan yan

It's been a long time that Hong Kong movie will discuss about minority and how people work in 1997s are suffering nowadays. It's a rare topic among Hong Kong movies and makes the audience start to reflect on those problem after watching it. This movie use hand rolled cigarettes as the topic which is refer yo friendship and old product from 1997s is a wise choice too. Also, the shot in this movie is very beautiful, it's show the uniqueness of Hong Kong. All those neon light, building and the environment inside the Chungking Mansions are magnificent. The fighting scene at the end of the movies are very smooth, makes me hold my fist and sweating. Must rate this 10 out of 10.

Kwan Chiu (Gordon Lam) is an ex-soldier left behind when the Brits handed Hong Kong over to China in the late 1990s; he and his former mates must make their way as best they can in a brutal, uncaring place. Mani (Bipin Karma) is a South Asian vagabond eking out a living any way he can in Hong Kong, looking after his small brother and trusting his cousin to help him. When Mani's cousin steals drugs from Boss Tai (Ben Yuen), Mani is chased by the Boss's thugs and he holes up in Chiu's apartment. Meanwhile, Chiu has made a deal with Pickle (To Yin-Gor) without the awareness of his employer, Boss Tai. Soon, everybody's after both of them....

The film is very much a "dark underbelly of the big city" type of noir, only with a *lot* of violence - one of the thugs in particular seems to delight in thinking up new ways to torture, well, anybody at all really. It's very tense and the acting is very good, but it was just a bit too lurid for me. Which isn't to say fans of ultra-violent movies won't like it, it's just not my cup of tea.

I personally enjoy this movie. The sound, cinematography, wardrobe, location are all top notched. The acting is on point, there is no over the top acting or cringe inducing funny moments that plagued so many hong kong movies. The director Chan is surprisingly young and yet I can see he's a very steady hand and a crew that works well together for him. There is still hope for hk cinema.