Kang (Liu Ye) looks out for his younger brother, Xiao Hu (Tony Yang), and their best friend, Fung (Daniel Wu). Kang convinces them their future and fortune can be found working as waiters in Shanghai. Though things don’t work out quite as they planned at first they soon find themselves embroiled in the operations and affairs of Boss Hong (Sun Honglei), one of the local crime bosses who runs the city’s film industry as well as its most glamorous nightclub, The Paradise Club. Kang quickly climbs the ranks to become one of Boss Hong’s most prized enforcers. Hu and Fung are reluctantly pulled into the fray with him.
Set in the volatile and lawless city of Shanghai in the thirties Blood Brothers is an impressive technical debut from Alexi Tan which explores themes of brotherhood, greed, love and betrayal. So why does trying to put your finger on what doesn’t work in Blood Brothers hurt? It hurts because I want applaud this debut effort of Tan. It hurts because I appreciate the talent in front of the lens as well. But there was always this little nagging thought in the back of my head while I was watching Blood Brothers. I’ve seen this movie before. And that isn’t because of the close ties this film had early on with John Woo’s Bullet in the Head. No, it is more than that.
The themes, the dialogue and the narrative were just really familiar as they have long been staples of Chinese cinema for years. And unfortunately a different setting and production design doesn’t cover the familiar themes and dialogue. I do not want to say that this film lack originality its just that when you are familiar with the themes and the dialogue you can be a couple steps ahead of the narrative and that keeps the film from giving you anything fresh, new or surprising.
Technically Tan is in a good place right now. Blood Brothers looks good. Tan and the production team did a very good job. Not to detract from it but Chinese cinema has always had a love affair with 1930s Shanghai. It would more disappointing if they missed the mark.
Technically sound but treading familiar territory, Blood Brothers lacks the punch needed to make it a truly great movie. But keep an eye out for Alexi Tan. He has considerable talent behind the camera and with a great script he should be able to do great things.