Three Decades of “Brother’s Keeper”

Amy Wong’s (王心慰) new TVB drama Brother’s Keeper <巨輪> emulates the formula that previous TVB producers had employed in acclaimed dramas such as The Greed of Man <大時代> and At the Threshold of an Era <創世紀> – a family epic that spans three decades.

Brother’s Keeper stars Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) and Edwin Siu (陳展鵬), respectively portraying Sang and Son, two half-brothers who share the same mother, Mui (Louise Lee 李司棋). While Sang battled to survive in the fast-paced, unforgiving lifestyle of Hong Kong, Son and their mother struggled to make a living in the much humbler city of Macau.

Surviving through catastrophic events like Hong Kong and Macau’s economic and triad crisis in the late nineties, the SARS outbreak of 2003, and the 2008 financial recession, Sang and Son form a strong bond, but each of these events also sparked different fates for the two brothers. The steadfast Son goes on to become one of Hong Kong and Macau’s most successful businessmen; Sang, however, meets a more tragic end.

The Brothers

“Kiu Tin Sang gets involved in every major incident,” said Ruco. “From the financial crisis to SARS, he is a victim to all of it. He learns to survive in such dark times. [Sang] has great endurance. He’s a risk-taker, and everything he does is for his family. He is an extremely hard-worker.”

274+ Memorable Brother Quotes

Share

Watch on

Like all tragic heroes, Sang eventually sees defeat. Once full of dreams and hopes, the adversities he goes through eventually turns him into someone full of ambition. “Sang’s personality changed his destiny. He never backs down when he comes across hardships. He believes that he can only survive if he adapts to society. There’s no right or wrong answer to this. Son is the complete opposite. He believes in his dreams, and he doesn’t let outside forces affect him.”

While Sang meets his downfall, Son sees success. Son’s backstory is loosely based on the life story of Mr. Leong Chan Kuong, founder of the famous Koi Kei Bakery, which is a major sponsor for Brother’s Keeper.

Before the shooting of Brother’s Keeper officially began, Edwin met briefly with Mr. Leong, who gave him details of his life struggles. “Mr. Leong told me his life’s experiences in detail,” said Edwin. “My mind was already full of pictures after listening to him. Our conversation made me realize that, in life, we all must remain committed. When others gave up, he didn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t have reached the success he has today. He was once threatened by the triads. During the financial recession, when everyone was losing hope, he chose to expand his business, and it grew. From his experience, I can tell that there would always be a reason behind someone’s success. My role was inspired by his experiences, and I reflected it in my performance.”

Edwin and the crew stayed in Macau for an entire month for Brothers’ Keeper’s filming. “Hong Kong and Macau are only an hour apart by ferry, but they are completely different. The Macanese have kept some of the personalities of the nineties. People are rather simple and humane. When we pass by certain stores for our filming, even the people who didn’t know you would ask you to try out some of their latest products. On the other hand, Hong Kong lacks this heartwarming aspect.”

The Love Interests

Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) portrays Rachel and Kristal Tin (田蕊妮) portrays Ying, respectively the girlfriend of Sang and best friend of Son. Linda spent extra care in her attire for Rachel, who is a famous fashion designer in the story.

“I’ve always liked the nineties. Many of my favorite stars were from that era. For my role, I drew inspiration from Joey Wong (王祖賢), mixed with the hairstyles of Kathy Chow (周海媚) and Vivian Chow (周慧敏). As most of the female characters in Brother’s Keeper had straight hair, I took the liberty to curl my hair for a more feminine touch. I used the original method – I would wash my hair every night and when it was half-dried, I would braid my hair to hold it still. The next morning, I would have the effect of bushy hair. I was very happy that I didn’t need to use any chemicals for this effect.”

Linda revealed that most of the attire she wore in the filming was from her mother’s own wardrobe. “My mom has a habit of keeping her own clothes, including the clothes she wore when she was pregnant, and when she was still dating my dad. I really want to thank my mom for lending me her eighties and nineties clothes for my filming.”

Linda stated that Rachel is the first character in which she finds to resemble her own real-life character the most. “I portray a girl of a wealthy family who was raised in Canada, and then returned to Hong Kong later in life. It’s my first time portraying a CBC-like character. It’s very similar to my own background. I got to speak a lot of English. In the story, Ruco likes me – not because of my face, but because of my courage and straightforward personality. Edwin treats me like I’m his goddess.”

Rachel and Sang’s romance spans over a decade. “It’s not a fairytale love story. Their love is very realistic. They come upon problems that regular couples would have, including lifestyle differences, economic struggles, and stress from work. I really do think Kiu Tin Sang is a good man. He relies on himself, and every single penny he earned was to help fulfill his girlfriend’s dream. He is willing to sacrifice. The love they share is forever.”

Unlike what tabloid reports have claimed, Kristal Tin is very proud of her character as “Shrewish Ying.” She expressed that the script of Brother’s Keeper was one of her more favorite scripts in recent years. “It’s been a really long time since I last received a script and wanted to film it right away,” revealed Kristal. “I remember on our first day, [producer] Amy Wong really took care of us, and kept on asking me if I had any problems. I told her, ‘Definitely no problem! I really want to get to work as soon as possible!’ It’s because I really like this script and my role!”

Shrewish Ying is very forthright and frank. She will not waste her time in the small details and is persistent in her beliefs. In many ways, Ying resembles Kristal herself.

Kristal agreed. “Many people say Ying resembled me. Edwin Siu even said that that no one else could do the role except me. That got me thinking, am I really like Ying? Ha ha! A part of the role definitely resembles me, but I also learned a lot from my role. Ying carries a very simple philosophy in life – she’ll do what she thinks is right. She will not be bothered by the trivial matters. She’s unafraid – if she falls down, she’ll pick herself back up again and start over. She’s very naïve in a way, and I also hope to be like her.”

Ying and Son share a very ambiguous relationship. “The relationship they share is like business partners, family members, friends, and lovers. Even they don’t know what kind of relationship they have. But what Ying does know is that Son is the most important person in her life. She cannot lose him, and likewise, Son cannot lose Ying.”

Source: TVB Zone #848

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.