Sangue Destemido (2023)

Today is a good day to die.

Xu Tian, the young scion of a wealthy Southeast Asian family, is on his way to Shanghai to meet his fiancee for the first time. Set in 1930, his journey takes him from Guangdong through Jiangxi and Zhejiang; lawless territory controlled by local warlords. This is a road drama where the journey is an analogy for Xu Tian's personal growth and how this perilous trip makes a man of him. He is aided and inspired by five eccentric jianghu characters - a hot-blooded revolutionary, an idealistic warlord in a gilded cage, a romantic gambler, a passive aggressive doctor and a bourgeois wheeler and dealer. As they cut a bloody path to Shanghai, Xu Tian learns that actions have consequences; to live in the moment; that luck can change; that family must be protected and that money can buy access to all sorts of people and things.

This is the fist time I have seen a Chinese drama attempt this kind of bizarre, absurd and violent black comedy where a small event, in this case a purloined wallet spirals out of control and snowballs into a series of violent, unpredictible and bloody encounters. All of Xu Tian's companions along the way have distinctive personalities and temperaments that make them the main character in their own stories. They are wierd, flawed, obssessive characters that are at surface triggered by bizzare and seemingly trivial events that are actually profound and hopelessly romantic upon deeper reflection. When triggered, they become raging bloodthirsty lunatics with a "today is a good day to die" kind of reckless fearlessness and determination. The ethos and irony is captured and diffused by the crisp, darkly comedic dialogue that builds both anticipation and fear as the story careens down a volatile and unpredictible path.

This cast list is like the who's who of top Chinese actors, starting with Liao Fan as Lao Sun. His opening arc is the one that made me experience shock, awe, rage and sorrow at man's reckless, absurd, obstinacy and obsessiveness. This was a tough act to follow and Zhang Luyi fumbles a bit in his portrayal of Yu Yixiu, who is by design a fascinating paradoxically powerful and helpless character. Thus the second arc sags somewhat but gets shored up somewhat by Wu Xiaoliang's short and moving portrayal of the lovestruck gambling addict. The drama gallops on to a thrilling finish when Zhang Yi's obsequious, passive aggresive doctor teams up with Tian Yu's explosive, trigger happy capitalist for the final showdown. I also have much praise for Zhang Jingwei's fanatically dogged Ma Tianfang, Song Hanhuan's mercilessly ambitious Wu Da and Qiu Tian's passionately misguided Jia Ruo Lan.

Unfortunately the cast's impeccable performances all around is weighed down by the leading role, Dong Zijian's Xu Tian. He is an excellent actor but this was a big step down from his other works. Maybe he was simply out classed by the stellar cast but I think more likely, he was just mis-cast in this role. I didn't like his Xu Tian at all and was not moved by and did not empathize with the character. If the journey made him smarter or stronger, it did not come across; he just seemed just as belligerent, more vicious and just as obdurate. I frankly didn't care whether or not he made it to Shanghai and couldn't believe so many risked all to help him along the way. I even cared more for the petty villains and the poor bystanders that were collateral damage than I did for Xu Tian. This drama made me laugh as hard as I cried and I was unbecomingly thrilled by every dark, sick, ironic twist the narrative took. But when I can barely root for the main character over the villain, I must only rate this an 8.5/10.0. That said, it is still a mind-blowing and incredible adventure, especially if you like dark comedy.

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Surrealistic road trip to kill or die for

The theme song of Fearless Blood resembles Jefferson Airplane & Grace Slick's iconic "White Rabbit" with flashes of Ennio Morricone mixed in. And the genre is just this unusual. A surrealistic road trip with hairraising extended gunfight duels, death defying heroism and several rounds of russian roulette. C-noir drama that is an absolutely unique masterpiece. It really doesn't get better than this.

The plot: A son of a rich family returns to China tasked with secretly delivering 3 gold bars to the communist fighters and to find his fiance in Shanghai. During the trip, he finds guides and allies who fight on his side - and sometimes against him - as the KMT has already acquired knowledge of his mission and targets the gold with the intention to kill those who receive it.

At the beginning of the trip Xu Tian is just a typical young rich man. He's like a blank paper who slowly matures into a true warrior who unhesitantly fights and kills his enemies.

The main characters of the drama are Xu Tian's 5 guides, truly larger than life characters. These are portrayed by some of the best Chinese actors with immense charisma. Acting masterclass. These characters are colourful and impressive to max. Their fearlessness has no boundaries, hence the title "Fearless Blood".

The road trip covers several stops, towns and villages, and we also get to witness many quirky situations and characters along the way. From train robbers to farmers, this all immensely entertaining. There's humour but it's the low key undercurrent kind. Not black but wanting you to relish this extraordinary tale. The humorous undercurrent is also a welcome relief to the suspense that peaks at regular intervals and really makes you want to take a breather.

The gunfights and duels are of type that we see in classic Western movies: two men staring at each other, guns in their, a stretched moment, war of nerves, who's going to shoot first and which one dies. The directing could not be better. And the cinematography is awesome.

It's just mindboggling how Fearless Blood is not more famous, bc in a just world this would be THE iconic drama that everyone would keep referring to. But the world is cruel, as our man Xu Tian keeps learning.

Watch this epic drama!

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