By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
It was hard for me to sit down and write this article because it meant I would have to think about “The Brothers Sun” again, and thinking about it turns my stomach. It’s a show full of casual violence, which is a la mode, I guess—I would even say heartless violence—but which is otherwise entertaining (I mean, the goriness might be entertaining to you) and interesting.
“The Brothers Sun” is a story about a crime family, the father of which (“Big Sun,” played by Johnny Kou) is based in Taiwan, and the mother of which (“Mama Sun,” played by Michelle Yeoh) is based in Los Angeles. The couple (whose affection for each other is undetermined for a great deal of the first season) each looks after one sun, Sun, I mean son. Older brother “Charles” (Justin Chien) has taken on the life of the mafia and is, I presume, second in line to his father. Younger brother “Bruce” (Sam Song Li), whose name might be ironically after Bruce Lee, as this Bruce has zero combat experience, lives in L.A. with their mom, and wants to be an improv actor (against her wishes, of course, as she is a tiger mom to the max and acting is impractical).
It’s still unclear several episodes in as to why the family is split up. But when Charles has to travel to L.A. for “business,” he also re-inserts himself into the life of his mother and brother, all of whom need to get to know each other again. There is a charming suggestion that Charles and Bruce were once close—that Charles used to take Bruce out for a treat when they all lived in Taiwan together. And underneath this is the idea that, as Mama Sun suggests, Charles (called “Chairleg”) has sacrificed a lot of his humanity to become a master killer. I would second that.
Master chef and master killer, Charles “Chairleg” Sun (Justin Chien). Image courtesy of Netflix.
The show has a lot of amusing banter between Charles and Bruce as they rub each other the wrong way (at first). Bruce, in his innocence, and because he has a somewhat flighty personality, provides the comic relief to what would otherwise be pure gangster mayhem. Bruce wants to make money though, and gets involved in the underworld as well, through a friend of his, “TK,” played by Joon Lee. There is a funny scene where Bruce meets TK’s boss, who tells him, “Have fun,” and that she “trusts nice people.” “Well you would, wouldn’t you?” says Bruce. “Cuz they’re….nice.” This scene and much of the show, particularly when characters identifying as female show up, has a “Suicide Squad” vibe. And then it also has a cannibalistic vibe.
Mama Sun (Michelle Yeoh) and her not-for-much-longer innocent younger son, Bruce (Sam Song Li). Image courtesy of Netflix
Not sure what to do with that dead body? Don’t have the room for a pen full of pigs, housing prices being what they are? Do we have the solution for you. Everyone is doing it. Get yourself a top notch cooking cleaver and chop them up in your own home! But that’s not all! Then cook them. Yeah, that’s what you’re in for. Doesn’t sound like a big deal? Just watch. It’s one thing to consider cannibalism intellectually (which cooking human body parts implies, even if you don’t eat them gag)—I mean, the Donner party was hungry, right? Who could blame them? Probably their friends were happy they ate them if it meant some of them could survive!
But then, you actually see it, actually feel it in your gut, and you viscerally (that’s from “viscera” btw) understand why humans eating humans (cows eating cows, whatever) is a taboo. It made me physically sick, like bile rising, to witness the scenes in this show that nonchalantly combine cooking (Charles loves to cook and becomes obsessed with churros) and killing. It worked for Timothee Chalamet, (cannibalism in a movie, I mean, cuz if your cute curly hair falls into your face, then it’s excusable)—I guess? But it does not work here. We are absolutely meant to equate the cooking with the eating—as scenes of eliminating the bad guys and then having lunch will overlap and you will also not know what you are looking at until it’s too late to look away. The stomach has been called a second brain and there is reason to listen to it here. This is gross.
But let’s talk about Michelle Yeoh. She should be knighted by now. Please put that on your list of things to do, Charlie. She is a highly talented, gracious, and gorgeous woman. But she is not appropriate in the role of Charles and Bruce’s mother. I mean this with all due respect, she is a mature woman and she does not look the part. I say this in the same way I would say that Tom Cruise should no longer be playing the romantic lead unless the object of his affections is the same age as him; and Leonardo di Caprio should stop dating 20-year-olds. There is no hypocrisy in my game. It’s downright unsettling to watch her walk around (not so much as eating body parts, okay, she is a lovely lady and very talented) because she has the body of an auntie or a grandmother. Her butt is flat and her hair is lackluster. So maybe blame costume and makeup here. Why did they not help her look better and younger? I mean, if that’s the role. Idk, maybe we’re going to find out later in the show (I doubt it) that mom and dad had the kids late in life.
Also, can we all agree now that mahjong is cool and makes cool clicky noises when you play?
“The Brothers Sun” is interesting enough that I want to find out who is causing the above-mentioned “mayhem” for the Sun family. Charles is overly sure it’s their usual archrival gang, so you get the feeling he must be wrong. It’s entertaining enough in that the acting is solid and there is a lot of amusing banter (sorry, not the parts where Mama Sun blithely tells her kid to “clean up the kitchen” of dead bodies; I am so over that type of obvious gimmick). For me, the addition of intense detail regarding the manner in which the bodies are cleaned up was just too much. But maybe it won’t be for you. In which case, you have a new show to watch.
From left: Mama Sun (Michelle Yeoh), Bruce (Sam Song Li), and Charlies (Justin Chien) in the kitchen, where all the fun takes place. (Image courtesy of Netflix.)
Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.