NYAFF XX Review: Chan Kin Long’s HAND ROLLED CIGARETTE, A Story Of Those Made (And Unbroken) In Hong Kong
The reception is a hugely earned one this year, by and large, for actor and film multi-hyphenate Gordon Lam with currently four films slated to take the floor at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival. Our focus here will be on his headlining role in actor Chan Kin-long’s feature directorial debut, Hand Rolled Cigarette, one of several recipients of First Feature Film Initiative, Film Development Fund back in 2018 and as of last Fall, host to seven Golden Horse Awards nominations, including Best Leading Actor, an awards’ first for Lam. Hand Rolled Cigarette presets its story with the first of multiple flashbacks, firstly to 1996 during Chiu’s (Lam) active service in Hong Kong Military Service Corps. The film denotes that by the time of Hong Kong’s handover from British-era rule back in 1997, there were a number of British-Chinese serving in the Corps who weren’t granted British citizenship, and […]