Portland Street Blues

A spin off from the Young and Dangerous series, telling the life story of Sister 13 (Sandra Ng, terrific), the Hung Hing gang's lesbian branch leader in Mongkok, a character introduced in Young and Dangerous IV. Sister 13 has 'felt like a boy' since childhood, but went through a quasi-hetero phase when she and a girlfriend had to flee into China and found themselves rivals for the attention of gang-member/boxer Coke (Fong, authentically dishy). But the constant struggle to compensate for her father's endless mistakes and a friendship with the vengeful junkie prostitute Scarface (Shu, amazing) helped her to realise her true sexuality - and won her status in the gang. The flashback structure and back-story elements are a touch over complicated, but nothing matters much other than Sister 13 herself: a plausible, non-iconic dyke at the centre of a broadly realistic thriller. Three cheers.