Xích Lô

After his stylish studio-made début L'odeur de la papaye verte, Tran Anh Hung surprises with his equally stylish but lively second film, that was shot entirely on location in Ho Chi Minh City. Protagonist is an 18-year-old rickshaw driver, an orphan who can only survive by working hard. One sad day a street gang steals his rickshaw. He has to recompense his boss for the loss. To earn money, he takes his first hesitant steps on the road to crime and later he takes it with conviction. He is accepted into the gang of 'the poet' (a role played by Hong Kong star Tony Leung Chiu-wai). His beautiful sister (played by Tran Nu Yên Khê, the director's wife) turns out to be a prostitute for the poet.