Review of Infernal Affairs

Introduction

This is the story of two opposites. Yan (Tony Leung) and Ming (Andy Lau) cross paths briefly at Police Cadet School, but both have very different roles to play. Yan is singled out by Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong) to go undercover with the Triads, whilst Ming is a protégé of Triad boss Sam (Eric Tsang) and is under orders to infiltrate the Police.

Both steadily rise through the ranks of their respective organisations whilst fulfilling their duties, but each pays a price for doing so. Both men are weary of their role-playing as moles and long to throw off the mantle of their false lives.

Unfortunately Yan ends up working for Sam and Ming for Wong, so things start to get complicated from this point on. A drugs raid on Sam by Wong goes wrong, and it soon becomes clear to both Sam and Wong that they have been infiltrated by moles.

It’s now a race against time for both sides to uncover the truth…

Video

Arrives with an almost pristine anamorphic 2.35:1 print and some superb cinematography that shows off the Hong Kong skyline, but there’s more to it than just shots of the skyline here. The sets are as stylised as it seems only Asian cinema can and directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak use green filters to good effect, adding tension to some of the more dramatic scenes.

Audio

Superb Cantonese DTS track, the only way to watch this film (with English subtitles of course). Also 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks available, but I didn’t go anywhere near those.

Features

A good selection of extras available here.

Booklet with notes by John Millar

Director’s commentary

Alternate ending – originally filmed for the film’s release in China because the Chinese authorities didn’t like the political implications of the original ending. It’s a little lame and doesn’t have the impact of the original.

Confidential Files

Behind The Scenes

Outtakes

Conclusion

This film was Hong Kong’s biggest grossing film in 2002, winning a shedload of Film Awards across the region and it’s clear to see why. At the heart of the film is a very simplistic plot, but it is bound together so tightly that the tension can at times be unbearable. The ending is superb too and took me by surprise.

I’m by no means an expert on Asian cinema but I’ve had the opportunity to review a few films now from this region and I’ve been steadily impressed with each one. Some of the dialogue is simplistic (although something may well be lost in translation) but the acting from the leads in particular is superb. Not only that, but we also see well defined secondary characters in Wong and Sam, something that is normally lacking in the Western cinema equivalents.

This doesn’t mean that the film is flawless though, there are plot holes that just don’t make sense. It’s a little odd that a man of Wong’s intelligence doesn’t use the hi-tech gear at his disposal to do a post mortem on his failed drug bust to uncover Ming, but then that also would have ended the film prematurely. The gratuitous use of women in this film seems a bit added on and detracts slightly from an incredibly tense piece of art. The relationship between Yan and his psychiatrist is a little forced and brief, while Ming’s relationship with his fiancé (a writer who coincidentally is writing a book about a ‘mole’ figure) also seems tacked on given the brief screen time of this coupling. As for the 30 second appearance of Yan’s ex, just what was the point of that?

Luckily there is a lot to take in and a lot of tension to soak in, so you can forgive the makers these errors. This film is a fantastic piece of work and will definitely stand repeat viewings. It would appear that Brad Pitt owns the rights to this film, so it looks like there may well be a Hollywood remake on the way. Like a lot of rather unsuccessful remakes recently though, it’ll have to be extra-special to beat the original.

Recommended.