Portland Street Blues (1998)
This spin-off movie provides a different contrast to the familiar Young and Dangerous films with greater character development. This time, the story's focus is on a female character - Sister 13 of the Hung Hing triad. In a triad underworld dominated by men, the film tells the story of how she faces trials and tribulations of rising to become the branch leader of Portland Street. The story shows the reasons she became a lesbian. The film also gives more details about the Tung Sing triad, and how the relationship between Sister 13 and Ben Hon develops.
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A waste of 90 minutes of my life
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
The always reliable Sandra Ng plays Sister Thirteen, a lesbian triad leader. The film is mostly told in flashback, to show how she became the leader of Portland Street. The flashbacks are few and lengthy, but very intriguing. You see how she interacted with her father, her relationship with Yun, played by the beautiful Kristy Yeung, and how she deals with this life. Shu Qi, in a smallish but compelling role plays Scarface, who is a battered woman. She meets up with Thirteen and you'll see what happens. Sandra Ng is great in this role. The lesbian angle is not played up in that there is nothing gratuitous, and she actually falls in love with a boxer named Coke. Sandra's portrayal is gritty, sober and compelling to watch, you're always wondering what she's thinking. There is violence, but a typical episode of the Sopranos has more. I highly recommend this, it kept my interest throughout. You get Sandra Ng and Shu Qi both at their best. There is no more of a ringing endorsement than that.
Intriguing gangster film about the rise of a female triad boss in charge of Portland Street gangs in HK. This is a spin-off of the YOUNG & DANGEROUS series, and cast members from that series pop up here - those unfamiliar with the Y&D films may find that a bit confusing. The film at first takes a while to catch on to, since characters pop in and out in rapid succession, and the direct-translation subtitles are a bit uneven (they may also be some excised scenes whose absence contributes to that the DVD length here is 114mins but the Japanese edition is shown to be 122 mins, so something is missing from the HK DVD I saw). But once the film goes onto an extended flashback, the story of Sister Thirteen's rise in the triads, it becomes quite compelling. Sandra Ng is outstanding as Sister Thirteen, with notable guest performances by the ever-appealing Shu Qi (as a junkie betrayed by a cop, whose killing - the cop's - gives Sister Thirteen her first step up in the triads), and the intricately beautiful Kristy Yeung as Thirteen's best friend. By the end the character has become real and the tale told a most memorable one. Ultimately, the film is more than a triad crime action fest, but a poignant and tragic drama.
Lively but somewhat implausible plot is about a petite/steel-nerved lesbian, named Thirteen or Teenie (Sandra Ng Kwan Yue), who thrives in Hong Kong's seamy/ violent underworld. Shielded by her powerful uncle, she can confront gangs; she and Yun (Christy Yang), one of her favorite "girls", get away with simple scams. Feisty Teenie then overcomes opposition and gains control over prostitution on Portland Street. Yun becomes a star on TV dramas. Oft-illegible white subtitles in Mandarin as well as in English.