Wong Kar Wai’s first directorial feature after he moved up from writing was his not-so-subtle transfer of Martin Scorcese’s Mean Streets to the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong. The film fits in well with the late eighties trend of heroic bloodshed gangster films, so throw in a fine cast of Hong Kong’s greatest actors and what more is there to worry about?
OK, so it lacks the full-forced dreamy and art house appeal of Wong’s later films, and is at best, a rough, commercialized genre film with your cookie-cutter plot. But at the same time, there are fragmentary glimpses into what Wong really wants to focus on, which transforms As Tears Go By into an odd and impulsively atmospheric gangster flick just aching to break away from its conventions.
Andy Lau plays our main character, Wah, a tough, cool, mid-level gangster and ‘big brother’ to the idiotic and rash gangster, Fly. One day, Wah’s aunt forces him to provide his cousin, Ngor, with a place to stay while Ngor visits a nearby doctor. All at once, Wah has relationship problems with his girlfriend, develops feelings for Ngor and constantly finds himself forced to take responsibility for Fly’s mistakes while attempting to reform the foolish gangster.
Ambition and fame. Brotherly triad love. Leaving the life for the girl. The storytelling is not exactly breaking any new ground here, but we do see these themes work decently, somewhat capturing our emotions with a combination of nice pacing, good characters and overqualified actors playing them. Our stars hold the piece together firmly, especially Andy Lau, fueling his character with triad ennui, self-pity, endearing charm and explosive vengeful energy. His relationship with Maggie Cheung’s Ngor is easily the most captivating part of the film, as the familial relationship is callously tossed aside in a passionate reuniting scene, set to a Chinese cover of “Take my Breath Away,” which might have made the scene classic if it didn’t remind the viewer of Top Gun’s sex scene while Tears has its emotional high-point.
It’s precisely this recycling that makes much of the film’s plotting difficult to appreciate. Most of the triad scenes are run-of-the-mill --- the internal feuding, grudges and heroism are the forgettable elements of Tears’ genre pic side. The only other interesting element of the film---the repetitive cycle of triad life (and the difficulty in escaping) is taken straight out of Mean Streets and lacks its predecessor’s punch.
Still, Wong’s clear presence in the film is what makes it altogether worth our time. The romance is usually an obligatory side development for the hero in this type of film, but Wong sends it soaring above the rest of the narrative, handling it with his signature rendering of the quotidian into the poetic and his bursts of impressionist style that prefers illustrating a character’s mood and their unrequited love rather than tangible plot events. Even without Christopher Doyle, Wong employs future director Andrew Lau to visually turn the streets into a dream-like experience and capture his action scenes with the groggy fast-paced handheld camera that emerges again in Ashes of Time and Fallen Angels.
This combination of Wong Kar-Wai with the 80’s triad genre pic is the main reason to see the film. Once 1991 comes around and Wong makes Days of Being Wild, his style is set for his brilliant series of films in the 90’s. But here, whether it may be the producer’s control, or some adherence to convention, Wong crafts a fascinating blend between his style and that synth-filled, genre-blended, undeniable magic of 80’s Hong Kong pop cinema. As unpolished as it may be, it’s truly a one of a kind thing.
Reviewed by Tarun
