Bruce Lee, My Brother

First published on 14 Jan 2011. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

Based on Robert Lee’s memoir on his famed brother, this coming-of-age comedy is noisy and energetic fare that amusingly doubles back as a who’s who of Hong Kong cinema. Chronicling the first 19 years in the life of the screen legend before he departs for the US (and a glorious career that the film can’t get tired of hinting at), this colour-tinted, nostalgic romp stars Aarif Rahman (Echoes of the Rainbow) as the teenage Bruce Lee, who grows up in the bustling company of countless relatives, family acquaintances, childhood pals and would-be girlfriends. While Tony Leung Ka-fai and Christy Chung both give compelling turns as Lee’s strict yet caring parents, it is the many celebrity cameos - embodying the movie icons that populate the 1950s studios - that prove the most charming. Although the frenetically shot and edited fight scenes are as sub-standard as they come in a Bruce Lee biopic, My Brother glows with an overwhelming sense of goofiness that renders all else irrelevant. Edmund Lee