Set amid Hong Kong’s ruthless, neon-lit gangland underworld, this operatic saga of ambition, honour, and revenge stars Andy Lau as a small-time mob enforcer who finds himself torn between a burgeoning romance with his ailing cousin (Maggie Cheung, in the first of her iconic collaborations with WKW) and loyalty to his loose-cannon partner in crime (Jacky Cheung), whose reckless attempts to make a name for himself unleashes a spiral of violence. Marrying the pulp pleasures of the gritty Hong Kong action drama with hints of the head-rush romanticism of Wong’s 1990s work, As Tears Go By was a box-office smash that heralded the arrival of one of contemporary cinema’s most electrifying talents.  

Notes by David O’Mahony

Screening as part of The World of Wong Kar Wai season.