Infernal Affairs

Ok, I admit it. I have a thing for Hong Kong cop/crime films. Blame John Woo and Chow Yun Fat (and please don't judge them on anything they've made in Hollywood). Last night I watched another HK flick, Infernal Affairs., starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau (Lau also starred in Full Time Killer, reviewed here.) This 2001 release is currently being remade as The Departed by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.

The film begins with a montage of two separate groups in training. We see Triad leader, Boss Sam initiating young men into his gang and explaining that they are to infiltrate the police force and be his eyes and ears. We then see the police academy training young men to be officers. One particularly observant cadet is selected to be "kicked out" of the academy in front of all the others and is sent on his way to infiltrate the Triads. Fast forward ten years and both the police and Sam's Triads have a mole highly placed in the other's organization. After a botched drug deal and botched arrest they each realize that they have a leak. At this point the cat and mouse game is on. Each of the moles must continue their current position while trying to locate the other mole and still remain undetected. The question is, after ten years on the other side who is loyal to whom?

Much more suspenseful than action packed, Infernal Affairs is a remarkably entertaining movie that even poses some excellent questions (these philosophical undertones are the trademarks of the quality HK gangster/cop films). The movie is weakened somewhat by a seemingly unrelated romantic subplot that pops up repeatedly yet takes up only about 5 total minutes of actual screen time, but not enough to change my overall feelings for the film. For anyone who enjoys this type of film, I will definitely recommend it as one of the best recent examples of this style.

Until later...