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Shuya Chang is magnetic as the illegal immigrant searching for her daughter, who is taken under the wing of a charismatic older gangster

Writer-director Evan Jackson Leong’s tale of a street-smart illegal immigrant who gets taken under the wing of a charismatic older gangster follows a well-worn plot beat-for-beat, right down to the inevitable montage in the midsection set to slinky pop. The kicker is that the apprentice and the master are women, exhibiting much the same unflinching ruthlessness you would find in a Martin Scorsese, Johnnie To or Park Chan-wook movie, but with a little less violence. But that doesn’t mean no violence: at one point, New York Chinatown kingpin Dai Mah (Jade Wu), a character based on a real female crime boss, slits a man’s throat with the effortless focus of a butcher slaughtering a pig, and barely gets a drop of blood on her dowdy polyester housecoat.

The familiar story of a new recruit rising through the ranks of organized crime is given a punchy female Asian twist in “Snakehead.” , this first narrative feature by documentary maker Evan Jackson Leong (“Linsanity”) is highlighted by outstanding performances by Shuya Chang as the fearless newbie and Jade Wu as the matriarch of a family specializing in the nasty business of human smuggling. Though it switches tone abrasively at times, and some story aspects feel a little too formulaic, “Snakehead” burns brightly when focused on the Faustian relationship of its formidable female characters. The future looks promising for Leong’s long-gestating labor of love, which opens in theaters and online on Oct. 29 following its major launch at Toronto.

“Snakehead” opens with a sobering statement about the scale of illegal immigration and how human traffickers known as Snakeheads charge $50,000 for passage to the U.S. The first words we hear are...

Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions has debuted a new trailer for the upcoming ‘Snakehead.’

Sister Tse comes to New York through a Snakehead, a human smuggler. She gains favour with the matriarch of the family of crime and she rises the ranks quickly. Soon Tse must reconcile her success with her real reason for coming to America.

Written and directed by Evan Jackson Leong, the film stars Shuya Chang, Jade Wu, Yacine Djoumbaye, Catherine Jiang, Richie Eng and Sung Kang.

Also in trailers –

The film is released in the US in cinemas, On Demand and Digital on October 29th.

The post “What would you do if someone betrayed your family?” New Trailer lands for ‘Snakehead’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

"Witness her rise. Respect her power." Goldwyn Films has released a trailer for a gritty crime thriller titled Snakehead, which is arriving on VOD this October. The first narrative feature from filmmaker Evan Leong, this film premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and stops by the Toronto Film Festival next. Shuya Chang stars as Sister Tse, who comes to New York through a "Snakehead", a human smuggler. She gains favor with the matriarch of the family of crime and she rises the ranks quickly. But soon Tse must reconcile her success with her real reason for coming to America. A Chinese immigrant get caught up in an international crime ring of human smuggling while attempting to make a better life for her own family. Also starring Jade Wu, Yacine Djoumbaye, Catherine Jiang, Richie Eng, and Sung Kang. This almost plays like American Gangster if it were Chinese Gangster, about...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions have acquired North American rights to writer/director Evan Jackson Leong’s Snakehead.

The crime thriller center on Sister Tse (Shuya Chang), who travels from China to New York via a human smuggler known as a snakehead. In the process, she gains favor with the matriarch of a crime family, risking in the ranks quickly. But success isn’t the only reason she came to America. Ultimately, the character needs to reconcile between personal success and her family.

Chang and Sung Kang lead the cast, which also includes Jade Wu (Luke Cage), Perry Yung (Warrior), Yacine Djoumbaye (Three Trembling Cities), Catherine Jiang (A Different Sun), Devon Diep (Honest Thief), Richie Ng (Midnight Driver), Celia Au (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens), Jamie Choi (Gotham), and Sandra Eloani (The Heartbreak Kid...