Selected to close the 64th Venice Film Festival on September 8, inspired by John Woo’s classic 1990 work Bullet in the Head, set in 1930s Shanghai that is reminiscent of old school Shanghai bund gangster films and shot entirely in the People’s Republic of China, Blood Brothers is director Alexi Tan’s first feature film.

Developed before the film project came into fruition, the screenplay was originally written in English by Alexi Tan himself, which was then subsequently painstakingly translated into Chinese by Jiang Dan, who’s knowledge of Chinese classical literature not only helped translate the dialogues into a more authentic Shanghai style, but also added a more feminine touch to the otherwise masculine feel of the film, especially in the romantic scenes.

The film is about 3 close friends, Fung (Daniel Wu), Kang (Liu Ye) and his little brother Hu (Tony Yang), who grew up together in Zhujiajiao, a small village on the outskirts of prosperous 1930s Shanghai. Being young, poor and trapped by circumstances, they daydream about greater things while earning their keep as fishermen. After one incident too many, they realize that their potential is hampered by the lack of opportunities that their village offers and decide to move to Shanghai together in search of whatever opportunities that the bustling city might have in store for them.

Once in Shanghai, Fung and Hu lead honest lives as rickshaw pullers, while Kang works as a waiter at Paradise Club, the most infamous nightclub in Shanghai. Owned by Boss Hong (Sun Honglei), a powerful figure in the Shanghai crime world, the Paradise Club is a seedy place where the dance stage explodes with vibrant colour and energy every night as beautiful women such as Lulu (Shu Qi), the resident songstress and Boss Hong’s mistress, sing and dance. Drawn by the seductive life of luxury offered by the Paradise Club, Fung and Hu join Kang in working there and eventually are drawn into the vicious crime world, where women are treated as objects and guns settle disagreements.

Behind the bright lights and glitter offered by Paradise Club, Boss Hong discovers his mistress’ infidelity and his right hand man, Mark (Chang Chen)’s betrayal. At the same time, his enemies and allies are all plotting to wrestle control of the local gangs away from him. All this happens while the three brothers rise to power and grapple with the problems that power brings. Fung has to make a choice between the irreversible route of a life of crime and unrequited love, or to return to the honest, carefree man that he was back at Zhujiajiao, where his childhood sweetheart Su Zhen (Lulu Li) is waiting for him. Hu has trouble with his own apparent inability to fire a gun and commit crime and is struggling to adapt to the dangers of his new life of crime as there are young upstarts trying to upstage him in front of his own brother. Kang, blinded by a lust for power and wanting more despite his meteoric rise in power, pursues his dark ambitions at any cost.

What follows is a powerful film full of energy and talent brought to fruition by Alexi’s unique vision, helped on the sidelines by producer John Woo, the first time he is producing an Asian film for another director, and who signed on because Alexi’s originality and vision in the 15-minute short film Double Blade (starring Jay Chou) caught his eye.

Aided by strong acting from a very good cast, beautiful cinematography by Michel Taburiaux shot on specially built sets, and on location in Zhujiajiao (where all they had to do was amplify the location by adding clothes drying on poles), and served with the dishy clothes by costume designer Tim Yip, who went through an exhaustive process just to make sure that all the clothes fitted the 1930s time period, Blood Brothers is an excellent film, with nitty gritty dialogue, solid acting, and sitting in the cinema and watching it would make you feel like you have been transported back to 1930s Shanghai, and actually watching the action unfurl from a traditional teahouse.

As already mentioned, acting is superb on the overall, but in particular, Shu Qi stands out brilliantly as the star performer at Paradise Club, her beauty accentuated by the gorgeous costumes and her famous pouty lips (lifted by a fiery red lipstick) leave a lasting impression on your mind, especially after you hear her sing, in a scene where it’s the first time the three brothers are at the Club together. Director Alexi Tan knows his craft and in this scene, Shu Qi croons out an entire song so heavenly, it is the one scene that justifies the ticket price.

Its selection as the closing film for the Venice Film Festival doesn’t faze me at all, for Blood Brothers is indeed a very stylish film. Running on the underlying themes of brotherhood and love (unrequited or not), with a tinge of betrayal, brought to perfection by nitty gritty violence, gunfights and emotional tear-jerking scenes, it seeks to prove Lord Acton’s famous saying, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

This is one film that you should watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

Movie Details:

Opens: Aug 23

Runtime: 95 mins

Cast: Daniel Wu, Shu Qi, Chang Chen

Director: Alexi Tan