Once a Gangster

2010 1h 35m CN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 34

ActionComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Roast Pork joins the triad as a young man and ends up becoming a trusted lieutenant of boss Kerosene. However, his true passion is in his successful chain of restaurants, his loving wife, and his two children. So when Kerosene wants to promote his trusted right hand man to the top of the organization as a way to take on his financial debts, it's understandable why Roast Pork would want to refuse. Roast Pork comes up with an intricate scheme with his men that would take himself out of the running, but Kerosene's intervention causes it to fail. When all hopes appears to be lost, lifelong gangster Sparrow is released from jail after serving a 20-year sentence for committing a gang-related murder that earned him a guarantee for the leader spot. However, Sparrow has made his own plans to stay out of the gang, setting off a battle of wits between the two men.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin
Sparrow
Jordan Chan Siu-Chun
Roast Pork
Michelle Ye Xuan
Nancy
Alex Fong Chung-Sun
Kerosene
Candice Yu On-On
Lady Pearl
Wilfred Lau Ho-Lung
Yan
Conroy Chan Chi-Chung
Scissors
Nan Yik-Pong
Greasy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Felix Chong Man-Keung
Writers: Felix Chong Man-Keung, Felix Chong Man-Keung, Lau Ho-Leung
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Felix Chong Man-Keung, shot by Davy Tsou Lin-Yau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ken Chan Ka-Yip. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin and Jordan Chan Siu-Chun and Michelle Ye Xuan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1611840 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Felix Chong Man-Keung directs. Davy Tsou Lin-Yau behind the camera. Ken Chan Ka-Yip scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 16 years ago.
3Directed by Felix Chong Man-Keung, shot by Davy Tsou Lin-Yau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ken Chan Ka-Yip. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin and Jordan Chan Siu-Chun and Michelle Ye Xuan carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt1611840 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.