Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020)

Let's Start Over!

Hand Rolled Cigarette is an old school violent crime drama that almost makes itself into something a little more special, but just misses the mark. Even in the face of debt and despair, two criminal misfits keep marching forward, hoping for that chance to start over. Along the way, the disparate strangers find themselves counting on each other to survive.

The film begins with the turnover of Hong Kong and the servicemen previously in the Queen's army now being left behind. Chiu bolsters his military brothers by saying it's their chance to start over. Years later, some have made it better than others. Chiu and another military brother had borrowed heavily and invested in the stock market only to watch it crash and lose everything. Deeply in debt, Chiu hustles on the triad fringe to try and stay afloat, now shunned by his military brethren. His next big deal is as a middle man for a guy selling illegal turtles and a local kingpin, a deal that goes south landing Chiu in trouble.

Mani is an Eastern Asian immigrant, reluctantly in the drug business with his brother/cousin Kapil. Mani also takes care of his younger brother who is still in school. Due to racism, the family runs into financial and social walls everywhere. Kapil wants to take greater risks to make bigger scores which leads to deadly events after he makes a major mistake. They find out that drug dealers keep track of their product and are neither kind nor forgiving, especially with those who steal from them.

Desperately fleeing a vicious gang, Mani ducks into Chiu's apartment and hides. Chiu isn't thrilled when he finds the interloper but against his better judgement allows the young man to continue to hide there as long as he doesn't touch anything. They don't have many interactions but Chiu does help when Mani's younger brother gets into a fight at school.

Eventually, they decide to sell the stolen drugs to try and pay off everyone they owe. All of which leads to a violent no holds barred final confrontation.

Hand Rolled Cigarette is more of a character study at times than crime drama. Chiu keeps a video of his military days when he respected himself and what he did. He suffers enormous guilt over his past actions leading him to act self-destructively at times. Mani wants a better life for his younger brother, including a good education, even if it means sacrificing his own. The two small time criminals both are good men at heart forced into grim decisions by their crumbling circumstances. Recognizing that in each other they do make a bond.

Be advised there are scenes of torture and brutal murders. Mani is repeatedly called by a racist name. They don't shy away from expressing the racism underlying the society. It can be a difficult film to watch.

The cinematography while showing greater Hong Kong at night, also shows the suffocating world the men live in and all the deadly and dangerous things that can happen in small places.

This film is dark as the two men try to navigate the dangerous world of the triads, forming an unlikely bond. My only real caveat is that their friendship felt underdeveloped to me. I would have preferred a little more buildup of their relationship, events that might have shown the evolution of their devotion more. Or maybe they were just two guys that were hunkered down in the same foxhole with only each other to rely on as the bullets and bombs whizzed by. Either way it was an entertaining Hong Kong crime film, but with a little more relationship development I would have rated it higher.


9/15/22

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