Blood Ties is a lesson in budget filmmaking

Surely they’re called “big budget action flicks” for a reason!? I was initially excited yet cringing at the thought of reviewing an indie action flick. Indie film virgins like myself need not despair; this film is not a desperation tune-in to Air Canada’s In-flight film fest after 10 hours of inter-continental leg cramps. Blood Ties will snatch you out of mainstream cinema drudgery and entice you into the world of micro-budget film viewing.

Director (and lead actor) Kely McClung creates saturated visuals, a sense of movement and an ethereal background glow calling to mind the otherworldly sensation in Nolan films which drags viewers into the screen (no 3D glasses required). Luckily, this gritty dreamscape fabricated in the back streets of Thailand and Eastern US doesn’t overshadow the story. Jack Davis (Director Kely McClung), former federal agent “G.I. Joe”, discovers his brother Jim (The Vampire Diaries’ Robert Pralgo) is kidnapped and flies off to the danger-filled alleys of Thailand to secure his freedom. What Jack doesn’t know is his former shadowy employers are pulling the strings from the USA. The film subtly reveals a much deeper, intriguing tragedy beneath martial arts action á la Jacky Chan.

The most beautiful yet at brief points frustrating part of the film is the complexity of storyline and characters shown without words. In a few scenes I felt like additional dialogue would’ve added more depth, but in most, there was a raw beauty in exploring characters through expression and reactions – silent, physical or emotional – you’d see in real life. Far more satisfying than dialogue filmed for the sake of exposition, this drags you into contemplating everything you see.

Careful casting adds an additional layer of gritty realism. Average-Joe Americans are cast as non-descript military black-operatives instead of Hollywood beach boys. Thai gang kidnappers convince you they’re a street gang for hire that took a job on a movie set as an amusing break from their nightly prowl. Tuk-Tuks and their drivers were paid to film a chase scene in Bangkok traffic and main characters are played by real-life martial arts experts fighting with visually exotic techniques you’ve never seen in a mainstream action flick. My favourite scene involves Jack and a Thai girl – who genuinely can’t speak English – expressing their love for one another through a very real language barrier. Blood Ties skips the “acting” of most films and simply captures beautiful, real moments of interaction between characters.

Clearly, there’s a reason Blood Ties has been cleaning up the awards circuit (Best International Film in UK at the End of the Pier Int’l Film Festival, Film of the Year at the Action on Film Festival, etc). Its exotic visuals and martial arts scenes will get your blood pumping, but its mind-bendingly subtle story and characters are what will keep this on your DVD rack for ages!