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Jaycee Chan and Josie Ho talk about how much fun it was playing brother and sister in their new film The Drummer
Jaycee Chan Cho-ming and Josie Ho Chiu-yee play siblings who learn about the importance of family and the power of music in The Drummer.
The film is a coming-of-age tale about an angry  young man who finds  his purpose in life when he starts drumming.
The movie, directed by Kenneth Bi, stars Chan as the wayward son of a gang boss (played by Tony Leung Ka-fai). He has an affair with the girlfriend of his father's boss and has to leave town.
He flees to Taiwan, where he  meets a group of traditional Chinese Zen drummers - played by real members of famous Taiwanese drumming troupe U-Theatre.
By playing with the group, Chan's character comes to appreciate the transformational power of music and reconciles with his father.
He says there are some real-life parallels in his relationship with his own dad.
'The personality of Leung's character is about 70 to 80 per cent similar to my dad,' says Chan.
He says his father, Jackie Chan, is an authoritive figure at work and at home who does not shy away from telling people when he disagrees with them.
'We  argue sometimes when we talk about cars. When it comes to movies, I  let him talk if the subject is action films. But if it's drama,  I'm prepared to stand my ground. The same goes for discussions about music,'  says Chan, who is also a singer-songwriter.
Like Chan, Ho  likes to do things her own way and Chan's rebel character in the film echoes her behaviour as a child.
'I was like Jaycee's character when I was young, and my elder sister is like my character in the movie. During filming, some childhood memories came flooding back and I realised how much my sister loves me.'
In the film, Ho plays the protective sister to Chan's wild child. She says the film  made her realise the importance of mutual respect in family relationships.
'When we are growing up we  feel  our beliefs are right and our families don't understand us or the things we like. But you should never turn away from your family because of that,' says Ho.
'Kids nowadays may  be more savvy than their parents realise but you have to respect each other's beliefs. One day you  may find that  if you feel you have nothing left, family is the only thing you do have.'
Chan  says he learned to treasure  his family thanks to his experience on the film set.
'Everyone can see that in my family work comes first. Family only ranks second. Sometimes family even comes after work and play,' says Chan.
'But after spending two months shooting,  I went home and hugged my mum. That's something I haven't done in a long time.'
Both Chan and Ho say their performances were inspired by the devotion of U-Theatre members - who practise drumming, meditation and martial arts in harsh conditions on mountain tops for years.
'As performers, they represent our ultimate goal. They  are at a stage where they are so immersed in their art that they become selfless,' says Ho.
'They remind me of the reason I wanted to become  an entertainer.'
The Drummer opens October 11



Enjoying sibling revelry