“Despite the walls of entry, illegal immigration thrives. For $50,00 dollars Chinese human smugglers known as Snakeheads provide passage. But today the strongest pull to come to America isn’t money.”

I didn’t know what to expect from Snakehead. And I like that, going into a film not having any preconceived notions which may colour your take on what you are watching.

What I got was a great crime thriller from writer/director Evan Leong in what is his feature debut. A dark tale of human trafficking and modern slavery the story follows Sister Tse (Shuya Chang, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; Sword of Destiny) who has herself smuggled to America and in order to pay off the debt is stuck in the employ of Dai Mah (Jade Wu, Netflix Luke Cage) who effectively runs Chinatown with her son Rambo (Sung Kang, Fast and Furious Franchise). We see Sister Tse rise through the ranks and gain the trust of her “employers” but to what end?

Snakehead is one of those films, which given the subject matter, I don’t think enjoyed would be an appropriate word. Appreciated is probably better. It is a dark, gritty piece which doesn’t shy away from or try to sugar coat the world it is set in. The central performances are well played and subtle. While I’m not familiar with Shuya Kang or Jade Wu’s previous work a look on IMDB shows they are experienced actors and it shows on screen. 

Shuya Kangs Sister Tse is for me a breath of fresh air, so many times in this style of movie the protagonists are male and it is good to see a female character who is as tough, ruthless and determined as her male counterparts.

The same can be said of Jade Wu’s Dai Mah, she does a fantastic job portraying a single-minded hardcore gangster who happens to look like a sweet little old lady. She is just as strong a character as any I have seen in male led Mafia films.

I have seen Sung Kang in a few things where he is often cast as the “good” guy. In Snakehead he is not a good guy and he plays it very well with depth and as well as strength and potential violence a vulnerability shows through. Like I say out of the few things I have seen him in this is my favourite of his performances. With a strong script (if you go by the trivia on IMDB partially inspired by a real-life human trafficker), great direction and solid central performances Snakehead is well worth checking out and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime

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