CBC breaks new ground with Dragon Boys

Thursday January 04 2007
/by George Zicarelli, Driven magazine/

Armed with one of Canada’s most accomplished directors guiding a
star-laden cast, the CBC mini-series Dragon Boys
thrusts Asian gangs into the national spotlight.

The two-part, four-hour thriller gives viewers a rare glimpse into
Vancouver’s organized crime world and shines a light on the struggles of
Asian immigrants trying to forge lives in Canada.

Such a seminal project couldn’t be trusted to just anyone. With eight
Gemini Awards to his credit (as well as
having directed Paris, France – known as one of the 50 most erotic films
of all time), few Canadian directors have the pedigree of Jerry
Ciccoritti (Trudeau, Lives of the Saints). As the son of immigrant
parents, he also brought an intimate understanding of the motivation
behind the characters in Dragon Boys.

“One of the main reasons I took this gig was because it appeals to my
passions,” he said. “I always try to do work that reflects the…state of
mind of being either an immigrant or the children of immigrants in this
country. We’re a very special breed.”

A Triad of storylines

Dragon Boys expertly weaves three stories of Vancouver’s Asian community
in a style reminiscent of Traffic. Tommy Jiang, (Byron Mann,
Streetfighter, The Corruptor, Catwoman), an ambitious cop on the RCMP
Asian-Gang Squad, struggles to keep his marriage together as he plots to
bring down Vancouver’s top gangsters. When a plan to turn rival gangs
against each other backfires, Jiang faces decisions that can ruin
everything he’s worked for.

Henry Wah (Tzi Ma, The Quiet American and The Ladykillers) came to
Canada to build an honest life as a restaurant owner. When his
17-year-old son Jason (Simon Wong) gets mixed up with the wrong crowd,
Wah, in a frantic attempt to save his son, crosses lines he never
thought possible.

Chavy Pahn (Steph Song, named one of the 10 Sexiest Women in the World
by Asian FHM readers) thought she arrived in
Canada with a modelling career ahead of her. Instead, she’s forced to
work as a prostitute in a massage parlour to pay off a huge debt. Pahn’s
beauty wins the favour of a brutal gang henchman and she schemes of ways
to use him and win her escape.

The real deal

Based on extensive research with cultural consultants, historians and
cops, writer and executive producer Ian Weir (Edgemont) created an
authenticity to the story and its characters. Ciccoritti knew how
important the project would be to Asian-Canadians and the creators took
care not to “screw it up.”

“The Chinese community was really shocked when they would meet with
me…and sit down and talk about the experience of these characters. They
would say 'Oh my God! That’s exactly right. How did you know? You don’t
even look Chinese,'” he said. “You don’t have to be Chinese. You fight
the same battles. You meet the same enemies. You experience the same
joys. All that stuff is the same.”

Mann jumped at the chance to play the lead-role of Jiang after reading
the script. He loved the multi-dimensional characters, gripping plot
lines and the care Weir took to make the story believable.

“If there’s any social responsibility, it’s portraying the characters
correctly,” he said. “Whether you’re going to show bad guys, good guys
or show character flaws.”

Both Ciccoritti and Mann are excited to bring the Asian-Canadian
experience to a national audience for the first time. Early indications
are that the show will be a huge success. A screening of Dragon Boys
last month in Vancouver drew capacity crowds. Mann, who attended the
screening and answered questions afterwards, said the response was
overwhelmingly positive.

“Not one person has said this is bad,” he said. “Instead, they say it’s
really educational, interesting and fascinating.”

The buzz around the series has even extended south of the border. San
Francisco’s International Asian American Film Festival
, scheduled for March,
has made Dragon Boys an official selection, a rarity for a
made-for-television movie.