This Vietnamese film was one of the titles I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I didn't know what to expect, but reading more about it, it wasn't what I expected, it made me even more keen to watch it. Basically in Ho Chi Mihn City, an eighteen-year-old boy (Le Van Loc), who was orphaned following the death of his father, is living in poverty, he takes over his father's job, pedaling a rental cyclo around busy streets of Sai Gon city to earn a living. The boy lives in a small house, with his grandfather (Le Kinh Huy), who repairs tires despite of his failing health, his little sister (Pham Ngoc Lieu), who shines shoes for customers of a neighbourhood restaurant, and his older sister (Tran Nu Yen Khe), who carries water at a local market. Their poor but peaceful lives are jeopardized when the cyclo is stolen by a gang, so with no other way of making money, the cyclo driver joins a criminal organisation, under the supervision of a brooding gang leader, who is also a poet (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). Meanwhile the older sister is also influenced by the poet, she becomes a prostitute, and they develop feelings for each other. The cyclo driver is brought by poet to meet Mr. Lullaby (Van Day Nguyen), who kills a victim by slitting their throat while singing a lullaby. There is unrest, as many rival gangs are fighting each other, the cyclo driver manages to find the man who stole his cyclo, he temporarily blinds him without being seen. The poet assigns the cyclo driver to murder a man, his two accomplices teach him how to use a gun to kill their intended target, they also give him pills to reduce his anxiety, but warn him not to take too many. Meanwhile the cyclo driver's sister is left in a nightclub with a client, but the man abuses her, the poet and the man realise their mistakes, the man tries to bribe the poet, but the poet kills him and then kills himself, setting fire to the room where he lives. The cyclo driver gets drunk and takes two tablets of the drug, he hallucinates, and mistakenly shoots himself twice. The next morning, the members of the gang find him badly injured but still alive, the lady of the cyclo business (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) releases him from the gang. It ends with the cyclo driver, still contemplating the memory of his father, driving his grandfather and his two sisters through a crowded road of Ho Chi Minh City. Obviously having to read subtitles, it was difficult to follow absolutely everything going on, but my attention was definitely caught by the really bloody and violent moments, and a memorable image of a young man pouring a tin of blue paint on himself, and the camerawork and long takes are interesting, overall it was a worthwhile crime drama. Good!