This is the first of several movie suggestions written by students in the Chinese-Language Cinemas class of Winter 2019 (CHIN 3050/FILM 3350). For this “Playlist Project,” students looked for a film of interest not seen in class, watched and researched it, and wrote up their recommendation. More viewing suggestions will be posted each day leading up to the beginning of the new term.
Review written by Victoria Dugdill
Its title, 跛豪/Bŏ Háo, literally means “lame, powerful person.” Poon Man-Kit’s To Be Number One follows the story of real-life 1960s gangster Ng Sik-Ho, famous for becoming crippled due to gang fighting (Choi, 2018). Starting out as a mere labourer, Ho soon develops a taste for power after working for Master Kwan, and the two become bitter rivals in the battles for triad territory in Hong Kong. The film was created by the Golden Harvest Production Company and draws on ideas of wŭchǎng music during action-packed fight sequences through a cacophony of harsh electronic beats, planting itself as both a modern film and one rooted in the traditions of Chinese cinema. It employs motifs of brotherhood, developing a theme of loyalty throughout. The film is important, as it serves as both a window to a less talked about triad culture within Hong Kong and as a commentary on the history of the area and the legacy of its establishment as a drug running base.
The film demonstrates historical ties between Hong Kong and ideas of fraternity, particularly through the highly prevalent triad culture. The triads themselves predate drug trafficking in Hong Kong, with many being the result of ‘coolie houses,’ or homes for working-class men of the same ethnic background (Chu, 2000, 17). These notions of brotherhood are an especially important motif in the film, and Ho and his right-hand man, Ming, have their humble beginnings as kitchen workers before turning to crime. This idea continues throughout, as when conducting business, Ho regularly comments on the backgrounds of his clients and accomplices to establish familiarity. In this way, the film serves to paint a modern image of an age-old means of survival by establishing bonds through shared history. This is done while simultaneously weaving this image into the criminal environment which resulted from territory disputes and ‘triadisation’ (Chu, 2000, 19). The film also effectively enables the audience to glimpse at the inner workings of a lesser known culture within Hong Kong i.e. how the triads themselves functioned during this time. While the triads did have a system of hierarchy in the form of ‘masters’ and their deputies, they functioned more as a loose system of cartels, each containing smaller societies (Chu, 2000, 22-23). This is regularly seen in the film not only through the various masters within but also in the relative autonomy lower-ranking members seem to enjoy.
Additionally, in depicting the underbelly of one of Britain’s once prized territories, To Be Number One heavily references the repercussions of drug trafficking in Hong Kong, and the violence which facilitated the colony’s creation. By the early 1900s, almost 30% of men in Hong Kong were opium addicts (Ismi, 1997). This issue of addiction is depicted through the character Ming, whose descent into addiction is heavily prevalent in the film, alluding to the damaging legacy of opium in exchange for wealth and the lasting impacts of Hong Kong’s establishment as a British colony. By the 1970s, British and Chinese authorities had also established close working relationships with the drug cartels (Ismi, 1997). This corruption is made evident from some of the earliest sequences in the film, as through the story of Inspector Lui, whose ties with the triad masters enable to them to essentially function outside the law, demonstrating the insidious ways in which the Hong Kong drug trade infiltrated government institutions. The film also does not hold back on violence, which is both demonstrative of the legacy of Hong Kong’s establishment as a colony and the ways in which the violence of the opium trade can corrupt society. Particularly, the film draws on actual events to tell its story such as with gang members disguising themselves as Chinese People’s Liberation soldiers on the pretext of raiding rival ships trafficking heroin (Linter, 91). This instance of gang rivalry is brutally depicted on screen as Ho’s men board a Thai ship in disguise and torture the sailors on board in search of stashed heroin.
Through its illustrations of brotherhood and frank depictions of crime, To Be Number One serves as a meaningful piece of Hong Kong cinema. Its portrayals of triad culture shed light on survival methods employed by early immigrants to the area, and the brutality in its depictions of crime succinctly reinforces the corrupting legacy of colonization and drug trafficking. In what could be viewed as a testament to its importance, the film has also been remade as the 2017 movie Chasing the Dragon (追龍), a slang phrase referencing to the consumption of heroin (Strang et al., 1997). This new interpretation of the story alludes to the relevance of the original piece, and a desire to see the story re-told for a new audience.
Bibliography
Choi, Martin. “When Hong Kong’s most notorious drug lord Limy Ho, ‘the biggest Mr. Big,’ was caught.” South China Morning Post. 16 Nov. 2018.https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2173305/when-hong-kongs-most-notorious-drug-lord-limpy. Accessed 29 March 2019.
Chu, Yiu Kong. The Triads as Business. London; New York: Routledge, 2000. Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia; 6. Web.
Ismi, Asad. “Her Majesty’s Drug Traffickers: Britain, Hong Kong and the Opium Wars.” Peace Magazine 13.6 (1997): 11. Web.
Lintner, Bertil. “Chinese Organised Crime.” Global Crime 6.1 (2004): 84-96. Web.
Strang, J, P. Griffiths, and M. Gossop. “Heroin smoking by ‘chasing the dragon’: origins and history.” US National Library of Medicine, 4National Institutes of Health. June 1997. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9246796. Accessed 29 March 2019.
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