- Wong Kar-Wai's debut film As Tears Go By already features several of the director's signature obsessions, including neon-suffused urban landscapes, the moodiest bars in the world, and Wong's pioneering use of a slow shutter speed to achieve a strange impressionistic effect. The story follows a small-time gangster named Wah (Andy Lau) who is eternally fixing problems caused by his hot-headed subordinate Fly (Jacky Cheung). Complicating matters further are the fact that Wah's rival, Tony (Alex Man), constantly provokes Fly into acting out. Not that Fly takes much provoking, mind you. This is a guy who started a fight with the groom's (Ronald Wong) father-in-law at a rooftop wedding celebration, after all.
- In fact, Wah is so busy cleaning up after Fly that he almost doesn't have time for a personal life. His previous girlfriend (Ang Wong) got an abortion and dumped him, and the only woman in his life is his sick cousin Ngor (Maggie Chung), who spends a few weeks recuperating in Wah's apartment. Incidentally, I'm not sure if the subtitles translated the word "cousin" correctly because Wah and Ngor eventually fall passionately in love with one another. Unfortunately for them, the escalating conflict between Fly and Tony doesn't look like it will permit their fairytale romance to have a happy ending.
- Although I'm generally a fan of crime dramas, I can honestly say that I'm glad Wong mostly moved away from crime-related plots since the violence in this film is much more off-putting and unconvincing than the normal human interactions. Wah's relationships with Maggie and Fly are both fascinating in very different ways, and ultimately those moments are much more engaging than fights in which two gangsters shove guns down each other's pants and shoot. Wong and cinematographer Andrew Lau (not related to Andy Lau!) are absolute masters of bright colors and high-contrast lighting, and the film's soundtrack exemplifies 80's cool. Without fail, I always find myself wanting to fly to Hong Kong just to hang out in mellow dive bars after watching one of Wong's films.
