Infernal Affairs

After I enjoyed Martin Scorcese's "The Departed, I decided to watch the film that inspired the celebrated director to re-make it and move the action from Hong Kong to Boston, MA, USA. I must say that I liked the original movie better: 50 minutes shorter than Scorcese's magnificent remake, "Infernal Affairs" is tighter, faster, more compelling and tells the same story better. It does not have a grand acting Jack Nicholson who basically plays Daryl Van Horne with the attitude and "Infernal Affairs" characters don't talk and don't curse as much as they do in "The Departed" but the Hong Kong's movie only benefits from it. As much as I admire Leonardo DiCaprio as Bill Castigan, Tony Leung (Yan) in his role is simply unforgettable.

Beautifully shot, cleverly constructed, humorous, dramatic, and humane. I never felt bored or rushed for a moment. Expect to have to concentrate on who is who, especially at the beginning, who is or might be on to whom and how, and what they might decide to do about it. Others have said that the two leads are excellent and I'm sure they're right, but I especially appreciated Eric Tsang as Sam.

It's elegant without being heartless. I felt the main characters' longing for truth in their lives, and the various different virtues, flaws, loyalties and motivations of many others too.

I was interested to see that virtually all the violence happens off-camera. It reminded me of 'authentic' productions of Classical Greek plays. Their plots often included murders, but violence was not permitted to be shown directly. A character would describe what had happened, and then a tableau of corpses would be revealed, on a wheeled wheels if I remember correctly from one production. Almost the same device is used in this film, and it's very effective when it's done well, as here.

The friend I went with would have liked to the female characters given bigger roles. Personally (I'm a woman myself, if it makes a difference) I don't care about that. I did notice, though, the way the female characters were used as symbols to represent the good and truthful side of life. It struck me, in connection with this, that sex and violence were being treated as opposites, whereas in many US films they are treated almost as two aspects of the same thing and as depending on one another, hardly existing independently. How many plots are driven by the kidnapping or other ill-treatment of the hero's wife/girlfriend/squeeze, so that the violence against her - whether she resists it violently or not - is used to justify and supposedly motivate the whole towering nonsense by virtue of her sexual relationship with the hero? It often seems that the villian's real offence is thought to be less assault on a person, than theft of property. And I wonder if, when the US remake appears, this tedious plot device will have crept in? But I digress - it was just an idea that occurred to me on the way home, and it tells you little about "Infernal Affairs", except that it may be one reason why I found this film refreshing.

An absorbing experience, and has made me more inclined to seek out Asian films in general, as well as films by the same director.

A deceptively simple idea lies at the heart of this complex thriller: the Hong Kong police and a triad gang both have an informer in each other's organisation: whoever's man picks the enemies' spy first wins the game for his side. Add to that the customary double-agent-doesn't-know-which-side-he-is-on-anymore subplot (doubled, of course), and you have plenty of ingredients for a plot, although it's to the movie's credit that although a little stylised, it never seems false or contrived. Fast-paced and bold, with a generous score, it never insults the viewer's intelligence either, and features just the right level of moral ambiguity. At one level, it's just another thriller, and there's little in the way of wider political or social subtext; but on the other hand, it's a textbook lesson in the art of making this sort of film.

Most western viewers will only know the Asian crime scene from the bleak and lyrical canvas of Takeshi Kitano's work. Here we get something that at first seems far more westernized and very close to the work of one Michael Mann. Okay, enough allusions: yes "Heat" comes heavily to mind at first. but this is no simple "Heat" in Hong Kong. This a splicing of everything Asians do best in a moody, stylish tension-based thriller. From the beautiful cinematography(reminiscent of Wong Kar-Way's films)- step forward visual consultant Christopher Doyle! - and music to the graceful ying-yang undertones (mirror-images are a key theme), the film's most heroic achievement lies in its leads and in the bold ending.

Hearing that this is being considered for a remake stateside comes as no big surprise, but how Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio could possibly compete against Andy Lau and Tony Leung evokes cynicism at best. Both leads are perfect. Lau's cold calculating intellect against Leung's anguished and tormented heart, complimentary opposites. There aren't enough words to commend this fresh, invigorating film with...

A seriously refreshing police thriller that cranks up the tension to the max. There's no overblown gunplay or buddy cop crap here, this baby is tight as a drum and will have your nails down to the quick. Superb performances, a tight script and tense direction make this a winner in every department. Pick it up if you can, it's fantastic.

9/10

Niz