Brothers from the Walled City (1982) User Reviews

Disappointing Shaw Brothers melodrama

[rjobrien_1943 · 4/10 · 28 January 2007]

Director Nam Nai Choi is best known for the outlandish - and ultra-violent - fantasies 'The Seventh Curse' and 'The Story of Ricky'. This earlier effort for Shaw Brothers gets off to a promising start, showing two young brothers growing up in the crime-ridden slum that was Kowloon's Walled City in Hong Kong. Once these characters become adults, the film is far less interesting, forsaking any dramatic force for clichéd soap opera. The plot contrivances come thick and fast and it's hard to care about any of the characters. Even the grand finale - which promises to be explosive - is a damp squib. The juvenile lead is Chin Siu Ho, best known for 'Mr Vampire'. He never quite made it as a star and it's easy to see why in this film. Chin lacks the presence and charisma to carry an admittedly weak vehicle. Nam Nai Choi would reunite with Chin for the vastly superior 'The Seventh Curse', a genuinely jaw-dropping experience.

You just need to watch it.

[gulihere · 8/10 · 8 May 2019]

Purely from a historical perspective, this film offers so much insight into pre '97 Hong Kong in a way that other Hong Kong movies don't. The reason for this is its setting within the Kowloon walled city, a structure that is (thankfully) no longer in existence. From a cinema perspective, the movie carries most of the similar tropes as other pieces of Hong Kong cinema does from this era and includes some very real family relationships. I would definitely recommend watching this film if you can get hold of a copy (its on Youtube).