HondaReport.com Movie Review
Title: Drifters
Pupule’s Rating: * * * * stars

MPPR Rating:
Date of Viewing: Saturday, November 8, 2003
Location: Dole Cannery/Hawaii International Film Festival

By Paul Honda
Saturday, November 8, 2003

In Drifters, not to be confused with an equally interesting but far less poignant Grifters, Wang Xiaoshuai sets his cameras and lets the story tell itself.

No handheld bounciness. No CGI superpowers. Xiahshuai doesn’t just direct. He crafts a tale that begins and ends with a constant tension, but like the dozens of cigarettes puffed away in this film, the simmering stays at that level much of the time.

Long Duan, as Er Di, is among the finest character actors of this generation and he shows us not just why, but how. Drifters, on the surface, is a story foreign to us as Americans: the desperate strategy of faraway people of risking their lives and fortunes simply to have a chance to come to the United States and make a humble living.

Beneath the surface, however, Drifters is about far more. As Er Di returns to his home province of Fujian, he doesn’t tell us his story of being a new father, of stowing away to the states before being deported back to mainland China. Instead, secondary characters—and they turn in strong, sustaining performances thanks to a balanced script by Wang—feed us key bits of information about Er Di and the circumstances surrounding his return.

His older brother, known simply as Big Brother, cues us in not so much with information, but with the passion that has seemed to dissipate from Er Di, a.k.a. Young Brother. When one of their brothers is discovered among the victims in a stowaway tragedy, Big Brother is full of questions—and as we learn, explosive anger.

The simmer comes to an early boil when Big Brother sits at the table, and nobody is eating though there is food aplenty. When Er Di arrives, Big Brother questions and questions him. Er Di has no answers, and after a few minutes, Big Brother finally erupts with doubt about Er Di’s participation in the death of their brother.

Before long, however, Big Brother is on Er Di’s side again. We learn, as does the old neighborhood, that Young Brother fathered a son in the states, and that the boy is now in Fujian. Problem is, because the mother’s family refuses to allow Er Di near the child, he has no choice but to stay away lest he break American law.

That triggers a heated feud between the two families, and in the mix are younger brother Liang and an traveling opera performer, Xiao Nu.

The two play larger roles than most movies allow for secondary parts. Liang’s spark helps the depressed, sometimes volatile Er Di to summon the courage to seek out his son, even with failed results. And when Big Brother quietly brings the boy, now 5, into Er Di’s hands, the genuine moments of discomfort and silence are mesmerizing.

It is Xiao Nu who breaks the tension between the boy and his father (and uncle) on a typically gray afternoon at the harbor, which is not exactly a pretty beach. With those same boats and tugs chugging away nearby, Xiao Nu is the one who gets the boy to play, reminding the men about what kids love to do best, and before long, all four have forged a simple, pure bond. It’s the kind of scene that every adult and child can relish, not because of the temporary triumph over politics, international law and family disputes. The smile on little Fusheng’s face is all that Er Di has dreamt of, ever since they spent time together in the states.

Of course, it doesn’t end here, and to spill more would be overkill. The ensuing scene is probably the most powerful moment in Asian cinema in this HIFF, and any father or mother who has been separated from a child can feel the torment in Er Di’s heart for long, brutally, but beautifully painful minutes.

Drifters begins with a sense of hope, despair and ambition, and it ends on that theme, as well. It is a masterpiece of our human condition regardless of culture and status. Xiaoshuai Wang understands the threads that weave through all souls, and thankfully, he spares no burden in telling this amazing story.

For good measure, it’s worth noting that Ziahshuai covered all his bases. In the first five scenes, someone—usually Er Di—is calmly toking a cigarette. It continues for the entire film but for a few moments, including scene 6, when Er Di visits his child for the first time in Fujian.

The Hype: Coming off Beijing Bicycle, there certainly is an exceedingly high level of expectation for any work done by Wang.

Strengths: Wang allows lighter moments to mature bit by bit, and with confrontational situations, he doesn’t necessarily let characters drift outside their scope of emotion. He is attentive to momentum, and that allows the actors to work each scene accordingly and without time constraints. Long Duan’s chemistry with his brothers changes between Big Brother and the younger Liang with tremendous finesse. He also pairs very well with Shu Yan (as Xiao Nu), and though she is a glamorous-looking woman, I buy their compatibility and passion.

Weaknesses: This film could have been trimmed just a bit, especially in the scene where Liang returns home with Er Di before moving to Guanzhong. There were two instances where the subtitles flitted by too quickly. There was also a single grammatical error. I’m really digging here because it is a nearly flawless work.

Best Scene: Hands down, at the shop where Er Di—formal name Hong Yuenshang—returns with his son, brother and girlfriend only to find the two opposing clans at battle’s edge. For anyone who has experienced separation in a parent/guardian-child relationship from either side, this is strong content. It is the first time I’ve shed a tear at an Asian film with a male lead, and that’s saying a little something. The last time I felt this emotional at an Asian film was during Gong Li’s string of triumphant work in the ‘90s.

Worst Scene: None. Wang is an artist when it comes to having purpose behind every scene, and he occasionally uses some scenes to set up later circumstances.

Summary: It is rare to find a drama featuring a man’s family, a child and a feud so compelling, especially without rampant sex and violence. Drifters is one of my top films of the year not because of this achievement, though. It’s one of the best because it is wonderfully crafted on every level. You will find few actors globally who are capable of carrying a heavy storyline the way Long Duan does here.

Discretionary notes: Mature theme, and one intimate scene (no nudity) between Er Di and Xiao Nu.

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