A Hong Kong soldier displaced after the British handover of the island to China finds himself working for the Triad; but a smuggling deal gone wrong for which he was the facilitator, and his gradual bonding with a small-time Indian drug peddler who is on the run from the Triad, inadvertently forces him to engage with the crime syndicate in a manner that spirals out into a bloodbath. Produced by legendary Hong Kong director Johnnie To, HAND ROLLED CIGARETTE (2020) by debutant Chan Kin-long is a well-crafted thriller that never forgoes its emotional quotient which is pitched at just the right level. And it is good to see Hong Kong-Indians playing significant roles in a Chinese language action film.
Streaming on Netflix. A pretty good watch.
Ranjan Das is a Mumbai based filmmaker and faculty.