THE TEA HOUSE was a hit when it was released in 1974 and its sequel BIG BROTHER CHENG was an even bigger success. It’s not difficult to see why. Both films played heavily on the frustrations and fears of the ordinary working class residents of Hong Kong.
Fed up with rampant crime and the government’s apparent inability to deal with it, citizens take matters into their own hands. It’s not unlike the popular vigilante films of Hollywood like Charles Bronson’s DEATH WISH, but with kung fu actor Chen Kuan-tai in the lead. The big differences is that knives are more common than guns and Chen is not a one-man army, but rather it’s the common people who make a collective stand with his leadership.
The film picks up shortly after where THE TEA HOUSE left off. Wang Cheng (Chen) and his wife had left the city to diffuse the growing violence between the teahouse they ran, the police and gangs. Word arrives that one of the waiters has been killed by thugs and Cheng returns to help his friends and seek revenge on the culprits. The thugs end up in jail, but not for long.
In the meantime, Cheng is drawn into fighting crime again with the aid of his loyal teahouse workers while the police keep a watchful eye on him.
Cheng’s treatment of thugs borders on criminal conduct and only a friend on the police force and the support of the community keeps him from getting arrested himself. Once the thugs he had put in jail are prematurely released due to having friends in high places, they target Cheng’s home in an effort to kill him. They fail, but his wife and a close friend suffer grizzly fates.
Cheng loses all restraint and respect for the law and recklessly hunts down the thugs in a chase that climaxes on a ferryboat. The leader escapes and returns with more men to storm a tenement where Cheng is recovering from severe wounds incurred in the pursuit. Unable to fight back, Cheng lies helpless as the building residents rise up to combat the gang.
BIG BROTHER CHENG is the sort of action film that gets under your skin and taps into a primal desire for justice that most right-minded people would appreciate. Anyone who has ever felt pushed around or abused will cheer for the heroes in this film as their fight has more relevance than most traditional kung fu films.
This is really not a martial arts film. There is a fair amount of scuffles, but no one is whipping out nunchaku or using any forms. The combat is depicted as vicious street fighting which can be ugly and brutal. Chen Kuan-tai is one of Hong Kong’s better martial artists-turned-actors and proved it in other films. Here he focuses on his acting and proves to be just as competent in that area.
A good portion of the movie is devoted to portraying Cheng as the big brother figure at the teahouse which becomes a household of sorts for its employees. These people are all poor and mostly immigrants from other Asian territories hoping to make a living in Hong Kong where there are more opportunities for work. Whenever troubles arise, they respond in unison to support each other.
This leads to a darkly humorous episode with three rapists who are forced to publicly strip and run about with bottles and cans tied to their privates. Shortly before, we witness an uneasy and stylized rape of a young girl who works at the teahouse. Although not always connected, these scenes all carefully build on one another until it seems more than reasonable for Chen to go ballistic at the end.
The story is well constructed and justifies the violence. BIG BROTHER CHENG is treated as a more realistic portrayal of low rent life in 1970s Hong Kong where the teahouse becomes a sort of focal point for all of the city’s criminal activities.
The direction is sharp and tightly edited for strong effect. Some viewers will definitely squirm at a gruesome hog’s head scene.
The limited fight choreography is chaotic and perfectly suited for this type of reality-based film. This is a well made film that makes great use of all of its assets and I highly recommend it.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Big Brother Cheng (1975)
