Wong Kar Wai-Wong gok ka moon ('As Tears Go By') (1988)

Though as gritty as any 80’s Hong Kong gangster picture, AS TEARS GO BY is a watershed film heralding one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in international cinema. Wong Kar-Wai’s visually stunning, tough and romantic 1988 first feature deftly smuggles the director’s now celebrated genius into an incendiary "Heroic Bloodshed" street opera of the John Woo mold. KINO Video




Already stretched to breaking in a loyalty tug of war between Triad bosses and his loose cannon partner, Wah (Andy Lau), a rising star in the HK underworld, finds himself saddled with beautiful, ailing country cousin Ngor. As an escalating test of wills with a stubborn debtor explodes into bloodshed and a mob turncoat instigates a ruthless police crackdown, Wah’s growing fascination with Ngor becomes his last chance for escape from a violent past and a dubious future. KINO Video




Cast in comic eye candy roles prior to AS TEARS GO BY, Maggie Cheung cites Ngor, her first of many collaborations with Wong Kar-Wai, as the character that truly began her dramatic career. Under Wong Kar-Wai’s direction, Jacky Cheung earned the 1988 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Wah’s guilt-ridden, out of control partner Fly. Balancing epiphanous imagery with experimentation and realism with brazen romanticism, Wong Kar-Wai’s AS TEARS GO BY offers a tantalizing glimpse into the nascent brilliance of one of the most influential filmmaking talents of the last twenty years. KINO Video




A low-level triad "big brother" has a hot-tempered "little brother" who can't keep out of trouble, and consequently is in constant need of being bailed out by his protector. The "big brother" is super cool, but lacks the ambition to rise in the ranks of the triad societies - and once he meets his cousin from Kowloon and falls in love with her, he even thinks about leaving "the life". (http://imdb.com/title/tt0096461/plotsummary)




Two superstars who dominated the Hong Kong art movies in 90's were produced by this movie, Kar-Wai Wong and Maggie Cheung, although to a large extent "As Tears Go By" is a commercial movie. Maggie Cheung has said it was the first time she knew acting was something beyond making simple expression. Before "As Tears Go By", she was a "vase" rather than a professional actress. The story talks about two gangsters and their friendship. Very typical style of Hong Kong gangster movies. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0096461/usercomments)