Infernal Affairs

Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller that saw its North American release in 2004. The film’s Chinese title is Wú Jiān Dào, which refers to Avici or “The Non-Stop Way” which is the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. The English title, Infernal Affairs, is often related to a play on words of the “internal affairs” concept and Dante’s Inferno. All meaningless title discussion aside, Infernal Affairs is a hell of a film.

Most people know that Scorsese’s The Departed – coincidentally (or not) reviewed below – is effectively a remake of Infernal Affairs. Infernal Affairs has received a lot of acclaim for its star-studded cast and its original plot. It also did really well in Hong Kong and was heralded as reviving Hong Kong cinema. Infernal Affairs would be followed by a prequel, Infernal Affairs II, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III, both of which were released in 2003.

The film stars Tony Leung (Hero, 2046) as a cop, Chan Wing Yan, who goes deep undercover into the Triad. Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers, Needing You) stars as Lau Kin Ming, a Triad member that has infiltrated the police department. Each mole had been planted by the rival organization to gain an intelligence advantage over the other side, so a chess match begins as a result of the dueling moles. As Yan and Ming become more engrossed with their covers, they become more involved in the ideologies of the double lives they lead, which sets up certain complications.

The film also stars Eric Tsang (Cop on a Mission, Partners) as Hon Sam, the Triad boss, Anthony Wong (The Painted Veil, Give Me a Chance) as Superintendent Wong, the police captain in charge of the investigation, Kelly Chen (Vampire Hunter D, Tokyo Raiders) as Dr. Lee Sum Yee, a psychiatrist that tries to help Yan, Sammi Cheng (Fighting for Love, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts) as Mary, the love interest to Ming, and pop singer Elva Hsiao as May. As you can see, Infernal Affairs has a lot of characters.

The characters drive the story and the dialogue tells the tale, for the most part. The violence is kept to a minimum and most of it is off-screen save for a few instances. Instead, Infernal Affairs is primarily a psychological crime thriller that uses music and camera work very effectively to describe the action and to set the scene. Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak do a tremendous job of setting this one up, allowing each scene to unfold organically and naturally. They have a great cast to work with, as evidenced, and they make the most out of their opportunity to turn out one hell of a crackling good yarn.

Infernal Affairs is tremendously smart from start to finish. It is a film that takes its audience seriously and allows the viewers to discern the plot as it unfolds, not taking anything for granted. The flashbacks do ruin a bit of the mystique on one hand, but on the other hand they serve to give us insight into what the characters are thinking and how they are reacting. The stoicism of the characters, for the most part, belie a quiet responsibility to their respective jobs and to their respective passions. As the characters of Yan and Ming are engaged in their respective lifestyles and are deep undercover, their aspirations and goals appear to fall by the wayside and their lives are put on hold. While the relatively short runtime allows for a reasonable depth into the motivations behind the characters, it seems that Infernal Affairs relies on its prequel to further bring out the hidden passions of these beautiful characters.

The film is also shot exceptionally well, as the cinematography is second to none here. Scenes unwind beautifully, like a true art-house film, and the camera serves as both a guide and as a passive observer. The direction tenderly allows the performers to take very good care of the eloquent story and the elaborate characters by illuminating much of the process with different shot techniques and cool cutaways or flashbacks.

For Infernal Affairs to put Hong Kong back on the map when it comes to filmmaking is a great thing. I look forward to watching the other films within this story arc, as the characters and expert storytelling offer tremendous excitement and really do justice to the care in which this film was made. It truly is a wonderful piece of filmmaking that can be enjoyed by lovers of cinema. (For those looking for me to compare this directly to The Departed, sorry to let you down).

Trailer: