Such an impressive piece of filmmaking. Shrewd plot line never overshadows the carefully delineated characters and their occasionally unsettling and in a few instances poignantly relatable lives. The cynic in me suspects, perhaps a bit unfairly, many will approach this film anticipating and maybe even hoping for yet another one-dimensional, albeit slickly well-crafted Hong Kong action flick, and with the renowned names synonymous with brilliant shoot-em-ups attached who would blame them? And yet, if you're like me and greedily ingest your South East Asian films only when piled on with some explosively creative and original flavor, then this one is for you, my friend.