A Better Tomorrow: Is Water Thicker Than Blood?

Film Analysis:


The 1986 Hong Kong action film A Better Tomorrow directed by John Woo is about two brothers, Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) and Sung Tse-Kit (Leslie Cheung), who find themselves to be at opposing ends of society. Sung Tse-Ho, who is the older brother of Kit, is responsible for taking over his father’s place in the Triad, in which he sells counterfeit American dollars with his partner in crime Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat). Meanwhile, Ho’s younger brother Kit is an aspiring police officer and is unaware of his brother’s criminal life. Ho's father asks him to leave the Triad, in which Ho agrees and says he will leave after one last job in Taiwan. After the business deal in Taiwan goes wrong, Ho and Kit’s father is killed by one of the Taiwanese gang members and Ho is caught by the police. Ho is imprisoned for three years while the apprentice of the Triad, Shing (Waise Lee), takes Ho’s place as the leader. Mark seeks revenge against the Taiwanese gang members by killing them all in a restaurant, but he is shot in the leg and crippled in the process. Mark's disability renders him useless and causes him to become a low-ranking member of the Triad. After Ho is released from prison, he returns home to Hong Kong where Kit disowns him as his brother. Ho finds a new life as a taxi driver and reunites with his partner and friend Mark, in which Mark asks Ho to help him reclaim their positions in the Triad. Although Ho wants to help Mark, he does not want to be involved with the Triad anymore and declines his offer. This does not last long, however, as Kit find himself being removed from the Triad investigation which causes him to become obsessed with catching Shing to prove that he is not a criminal like his brother.

A Better Tomorrow explores the idea of different relationships and how blood relation does not necessarily dictate the strength of the bond between two people. Although Ho and Kit are brothers, their relationship is estranged due to their opposing professions. After Ho is released from prison and returns to Hong Kong, he desperately tries to reunite his relationship with Kit, but nothing comes to fruition because Kit cannot accept Ho's criminal past. However, despite Ho and Mark not being blood related, their relationship is shown to be stronger than Ho's relationship with Kit. Throughout the film, Ho and Mark shown immense loyalty to one another; especially Mark who sacrifices his leg and eventually his life for Ho. The importance of family over other relationships in often shown in East Asian Films, but A Better Tomorrow challenges this idea through a complex story of good and bad. The film shows how two people cannot purely form a strong relationship from family ties alone, but rather that the strongest relationships are forged through experiences and emotional connections over a long period of time. Ho and Kit do not have the level of life experiences together that Ho and Mark do. This can be observed in the scene where Mark talks about how Ho drank the bottle of whiskey for him when they were in Indonesia and Mark had guns pointed at his head.

One scene in A Better Tomorrow that particularly demonstrates the strength of Ho and Mark's relationship is the scene where Ho and Mark reunite in the parking garage. Ho follows Mark into the parking garage after seeing Mark cleaning the Triad's cars, indicating he became a low-ranking member after losing mobility in his leg. When Ho approaches Mark in the parking garage, he asks Mark why he lied to him in the letters he received from him while in prison. Mark is immediately overcome by his emotions and he embraces Ho, in which his facial expression is of extreme sadness due to Ho being imprisoned for three years. Ho and Mark go through a series of emotions during this scene and eventually show their happiness for finally being reunited.

The final gunfight scene, which is also the climax and resolution of the film, further demonstrates the difference in relationship that Ho has with Kit versus Mark. Ho tells Mark to leave Hong Kong via boat, but when Mark hears gunshots ringing along the shoreline, he turns the boat around to help Ho fight Shing and the Triads. Kit also appears during the gunfight because he believes it is his change to finally catch Shing and prove himself to the police department. Right before Mark is shot and killed, he asks Kit why he can't forgive Ho. Although Ho and Kit finally resolve their conflict and become equals at the end of the film, it is hard to imagine their relationship will ever have the depth that Ho and Mark's did.

Scene Analysis:

This scene takes place after Ho and Mark are confronted by Shing at a nightclub, in which Shing tries to get Ho back into the Triad business with the promise of allowing Mark to return to his former position. Kit also appears at the nightclub and sees Ho and Mark talking to Shing. After Shing leaves, Kit approaches Ho and Mark and tells Ho to follow him outside. When asking Ho to follow him, he calls Ho by his full name, Sung Tse-Ho, which indicates that Kit has disowned him as a brother and only sees him through an authoritative perspective now. Kit believes Ho is still involved with the Triad and that he can get information about Shing's upcoming business deal from him.

The scene begins with a far away shot of Kit pushing Ho aggressively out of the nightclub through a gated door into a dark, narrow alley. The alley is mostly barren and dimly lit, which reveals the wet ground and piping running along the outer walls. Through the darkness and distance of the shot, the two men are only visible in form. Kit's figure can be seen in the middle of the shot, while Ho becomes completely obscured by shadow. Diegetic sound can be heard throughout the scene in the form of ambience and dialogue.

The camera cuts to a medium shot through the nightclub door of Ho and Kit in the alley. Ho is being forced against the wall by Kit as Kit conducts a pat down on Ho. Both Ho and Kit's faces are concealed by shadow and facing away from the camera, making their facial expressions inconspicuous. Compared to the first shot of the scene that had a large depth of field, this frame has a shallow depth of field due to the wall that Ho and Kit are facing.

Cutting to the first shot in the scene where Ho and Kit's faces are visible, Kit begins interrogating Ho by asking him what Shing told him in the nightclub. Ho appears slightly unfocused and close to front of the frame as Kit is in the middle of the frame and in focus. Behind Kit is the dimly lit back room of the nightclub, in which there are boxes and trash bags lining the walls.

Not wanting Kit to get involved with the dangerous business of the Triad, Ho denies that Shing told him about anything involving the Triad. Ho continuously avoids eye contact with Kit by facing away from him with his face angled towards the ground. Mark enters the scene by leaning against the door frame and watching silently from the background as he smokes a cigarette.

The camera cuts to multiple close-up headshots of Ho and Kit as they continue to talk about Shing and the Triad. Ho repeatedly tells Kit he does not know what Shing has planned, which leads Kit to demand how Ho can be a big brother when he knows nothing. This phrase can have two different meanings, such as Kit questioning Ho as his brother but also as the former leader of the Triad. This frame shows Ho reacting to Kit's accusation, in which Ho's face is the only visible part of the frame.

After Ho exclaims Kit's name, the camera cuts to Kit who demands that Ho calls him "Sir" because he refuses to acknowledge Ho as anything else besides a lowly criminal. Kit's facial expression becomes more severe as he yells at Ho.

Realizing that Kit no longer sees him as a brother, Ho obliges and calls Kit "Sir" and says he is no longer a big brother. Once again, this phrase can have two meanings in which Ho acknowledges that he has lost his brother and his place in the Triad. Ho's facial expression becomes one of extreme sadness and self-defeat.

The camera cuts to Mark who continues to watch on from the door way as Kit berates Ho. Mark's facial expression is stern as he smokes a cigarette. The lighting from the inside of the nightclub can be seen reflecting off the left side of Mark's face.

When Kit calls Ho a thief, Mark becomes enraged and begins attacking Kit for insulting Ho. The camera work becomes erratic as Mark swings his arms at Kit and Kit points his gun at Mark. Mark and Kit both exhibit anger and hatred for one another because Mark cannot understand why Kit hates his brother, while Kit sees Mark as another criminal.

Mark's expression becomes increasingly intense as his lip quivers, his eyes are locked on Kit, and he hold's Kits armed hand to his chest. Ho appears behind Mark to stop the argument from escalating. Kit is facing away from the camera as he observes both Ho and Mark, not removing his arm from Mark's grip.

The camera cuts to a shot of Kit from his side profile as light reflects off the front of his face. When Ho asks Kit to give him another chance, Kit becomes more angry and asks Ho to give him a chance. Kit's face becomes contorted with anger and saliva drips on his lips as he yells at Ho.

Kit continues to insult Ho for his past as a Triad member by accusing Ho of ruining his future as a police officer for being a criminal. The camera remains close-up side profile of Kit as he exhibits extreme hatred for Ho. Every aspect of Kit's face is contorted, there are visible veins on his face and neck, and he continues to salivate as he yells uncontrollably.

After Kit accuses Ho for being the cause of his lost job promotion, he insists he will be responsible for Ho and the Triad's downfall. Ho and Mark stand close together as they watch Kit walk away from them. Both Ho and Mark's facial expressions are solemn and subdued.

The scene ends with Kit walking away from Ho and Mark, who can be seen in the unfocused background over Kit's right shoulder. The bright light behind Ho, Mark, and Kit creates a backlit effect and unveils a layer of shadow on Kit's face. Although partial covered in shadow, Kit's facial features are still visible. The most noticeable of his facial features are his eyes, which are swollen and filled with tears. As Kit continues to walk away, non-diegetic sound in the form of music plays to the end of the scene.