The movie opens with a pale, emaciated woman sitting at a table, injecting herself with heroin. As the drug begins to take effect, she stumbles over to a nearby couch and collapses unto it, the syringe still stuck in her arm. A moment later, a little girl of no more than six years old walks in with a doll’s pram. She stares at her mother for a little while before walking over, then carefully removes the syringe and throws it away in the dustbin.

For once, it seems like mother doesn’t know best.

The scene then cuts to a different time as the main character of Protégé, Nick (Daniel Wu in a convincing tour de force), walks into the same room and ponders over the reasons behind the use of drugs. The audience is privy to a stirring narration by Wu about the connection between the drugs and the emptiness felt by the drug user.

He ends the narration with a lingering question which will follow you throughout the movie: ‘which is worse, the drugs or the emptiness?’ And while you watch the numerous events unfold, you will keep going back to that question posed.

The movie tells the story of Nick, a kind-hearted narcotics agent, who has been working undercover deep in the core of Hong Kong’s massive heroin trade for the past 8 years. Having infiltrated the industry successfully, he becomes the henchman, trusted confidante and protégé of drug lord Kwan (played by Andy Lau).

First introduced in the hospital, Kwan is suffering from congenital diabetes and due to his deteriorating health, he decides to hand his business over to Nick who is the only one he fully trusts. Having spent so much time with Kwan, Nick is aware of his attachment with the drug lord and the firm friendship that has formed between the two men. Presented with this new situation, he is torn between his loyalty to the police force and to Kwan.

At the same time, Nick also meets Jane (Zhang Jing Chu in a rather unflattering role), the aforementioned mother in the first scene. A poverty-stricken single mum, she struggles to fight her heroin addiction, take care of her adorable little girl and severs ties with her estranged husband (Louis Koo), who is also addicted to heroin. The two are mutually attracted to each other and after a short-lived affair, Jane is inspired to kick her habit.

However, when her husband comes back, she has to fight to stay resolved while her husband dangles more packets of heroin in front of her.

Written and directed by Derek Yee, Protégé delves deep into the underground drug trade of Hong Kong and viewers are even brought to the rural poppy farms of Thailand, where Kwan gets his supply to make the heroin he sells.

According to Hong Kong’s Next Magazine, Yee spent three years researching for the movie. He even personally interviewed those active in the seedy world of drugs so that the drug manufacturing, drug processing and even drug taking scenes were portrayed as realistically as possible.

In Protégé’s production notes, Yee stated that although there’re plenty of films about drug trafficking, “the reality of the subject matter remains elusive to most movie-going audiences”. His stance on the subject matter is also made crystal clear.

“Drug trafficking is an act of evil, I think all drug dealers deserve to go to hell and they will.”

It explains the reason why Yee chose to explore the shocking depths of the drug trafficking industry. While viewers would be intrigued by the little-known facts revealed about the trade, the message of the movie would stick as well – Drugs are bad.

Lau deserves a mention for his stellar performance as the drug lord whose illness does nothing to wipe his pride away. And while Wu remains the eye candy of the film, Lau outshines Wu in almost all their scenes together with pure acting ability.

Despite the heavy tone of the show, there’re a few light-hearted segments in the film, and the script does well to insert them just at the right moments when one might start feeling a little bored with the seriousness of the movie.

Little flaws can be found with Protégé, and one must commend Yee for weaving a story that is educational yet highly entertaining. It is stated in the movie’s official website that Protégé is a movie that gives you “everything you want to know about drugs, but never knew”, and is about as honest a movie synopsis as you can get. By the end of the 106 minutes, you will walk out of the theatre knowing more about drugs than you could ever have before walking in.

And do remember to watch out for the extremely poignant ending and a short scene filmed in Singapore’s very own Changi International Airport and a cameo by local actor (and heartthrob) Qi Yi Wu.

UrbanWire gives Protégé 4 out of 5 stars
Movie Details
Opens: 15 February 2007
Runtime: 106 minutes
Cast: Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Zhang Jing Chu, Louis Koo, Anita Yuen
Director: Derek Yee

Want to know more? Visit the official trailer and website