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Avg. Rating: 4.5
"People like us don't have tomorrows"
"As tears go by" is an interesting and cinematographically beautiful film set in Mongkok, a district in Hong Kong. This movie is directed by Won Kar Wai, an artist that can take a premise and develop it so well that the story he tells turns into reality. In this case, that premise is how to tell the story of a person without a future, of someone that believes that "People like us don't have tomorrows". What kind of situation could lead someone to utter such a phrase? If you are interested, just go on reading...
The main character of "As tears go by" is Wah (Andy Lau), a well-known Hong Kong mobster that leads a very dangerous life. He is respected and feared, and has only two objectives in life: to stay alive and to take care of his family. That last objective is a little difficult in what concerns to his younger brother Fly (Jackie Cheung), a young man that wants to belong to a triad, but doesn't have what it takes to be respected in a violent environment.
Wah's life consists basically of dodging bullets and getting his little brother out of trouble, until he meets Ngor (Maggie Cheung), a young cousin that needs to stay at his apartment in order to be treated for an illness. Ngor stays with Wah only for some days, but that is more than enough time to make him fall in love with her. But will that love be compatible with the kind of life Wah leads? And when Ngor returns to Kowloon, will Wah follow her?
The answer to those questions and a few more can be found watching "As tears go by". If you are interested, go for it! From my point of view, this unconventional ganster movie is worth your time.
Belen Alcat
PS: By the way, I give this film 3.5 stars out of 5 :)
Building Blocks to Greatness
As Tears Go By is the pure `Ah Fei' offering from Wong Kar-wai. Stephen Teo writes that you take one part Scorcese's "Mean Streets," and you add one part Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" (Teo 16) and you have one heck of a Triad film. A triad sibling Wah (Andy Lau) has his little brother Fly's (Jackie Cheung) back. Fly is constantly in trouble. Added to the mix is Wah's cousin Ngor (Maggie Cheung) who needing a place to stay while getting a checkup at the local hospital stays in his flat. The Wah and Ngor mysteriously fall in love - sort of that charm of the bad boy business. However, in order to get anything on with Ngor, Wah needs to settle up for the ill will accumulated by Fly. That is the short of it. Being Wong Kar-wai's first film - it is understandable that he has not really developed his oeuvre. Andy Lau, convincingly played a triad brother, reminds one of the dysfunctional characters that Wong cultivates. One would not know it if one's entry into the labyrinth of Wong Kar-wai is through this movie but I guess this movie lays the framework for his adherence to genre in an effort to belong. Maggie Cheung is stunning. She will eventually develop into the forlorn lover in later movies like "Days of Being Wild" and "In the Mood for Love" and Jackie Cheung, plays the never do well `Ah Fei' who is destined to bite it. Difficult to get too deep here but according to Stephen Teo we really do not see the promise that Wong Kar-wai eventually delivers. I have to disagree. I think, to some extent, we do see the promise that Wong-Kar-wai brings to cinema - the dark brooding characters who all too often defy time and identity are beginning to show themselves in this movie. The trick is to move forward from here to open new spaces of consideration in a movie world so eager to adhere to codes and rules that exemplify genre or worse formula. Kudos all around.
Miguel Llora
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