Recent Hong Kong ‘crime’ films have given their fans period fare. There’s some obvious similarities and differences between those recent films and Chan King Long’s Hand Rolled Cigarette, which is playing at this year’s NYAFF. It’s different in that it’s set in the Hong Kong of the more recent years, but the characters still have baggage from years that feel recent but are, on paper, historical. One of these characters is Chiu, who, because of recent circumstances, have criminals (including Michael Ning) knocking down his door. They are invading his space since they believe he’s harboring a man who stole their drugs.

This space is on Chungking Mansions, already a subject of a near-perfect film. And both Chiu and the henchmen are kind of right. Unbeknownst to Chiu, the drug thief, Mani (Bipin Karma), snuck into his apartment. What ensues is a friendship that reflects the fact that both have their problems to deal with, like Mani being the guardian to his little brother, or Chiu’s paranoia that comes with being a former subject of a kingdom that doesn’t care about him. Speaking of that, their new situation also reflects larger forces like their different racial backgrounds.

Hand Rolled Cigarette builds a solid first half on Chungking’s walls. The second half gets Chiu and Mani moving from that apartment complex to make moves that will keep them alive and away from the henchmen and their boss (Ben Yuen). This half makes for some great cinematic moments, like colors that we expect in a gritty international neo-noir. And the film doesn’t just have on-set lighting as one of its many assets. That other asset is Gordon Lam Ka Tung, who plays Chiu, who can either go big or subtle depending on the situation, a great anchor to this film.