“Infernal Affairs” A historical masterpiece that brings back the spirit and passion of Hong Kong movies of yesteryear *Note! Contains spoilers.

*This article touches on the core of the story, so we recommend reading it after watching the movie.

"Infernal Affairs" synopsis

1991, Hong Kong. Lau, a young man who grew up on the streets, enters the black society and is immediately recognized by Sam, the leader of the organization, for his excellence and is sent to the police academy. Meanwhile, Yang, a young man who had achieved excellent results at the police academy, is suddenly expelled from the school, and Superintendent Won sees his ability and orders him to infiltrate a black social organization. Ten years The Day After, as the two rise to prominence in their respective organizations, Yang struggles as a police officer, and Lau betrays the organization and tries to become a good person...

Index

• Recovering the soul and passion of Hong Kong cinema
• Hong Kong All Star cast and staff
• The last all-star blockbuster from the Hong Kong film industry

Recovering the soul and passion of Hong Kong cinema

The Departed Departed (2006), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, was made into a film directed by Martin Scorsese and won four Oscars that year: Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing. `` Double Face '' (12) was also made into a drama in Japan, co-starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Teruyuki Kagawa. ``Infernal Affairs'' (2002) is a suspense action movie that has not only been remade in Japan and the United States, but also continues to be a hit almost 20 years after its first release.

The English title ``Things of Inferno'' is a coined word, but the original title ``Mugendo'' refers to the Buddhist term ``Mugen Jigoku ,'' which refers to unending suffering that cannot be escaped once entered. In the Hong Kong film industry, where there have been many unheard-of comments such as ``there is no script so as not to be copied by rivals'' and ``story is secondary because action and gags are the mainstream,'' The existence of this work may seem rare.

“Infernal Affairs” preview

1991, Hong Kong. Lau, a young man who grew up on the streets, enters the black society and is immediately recognized by Sam, the leader of the organization, for his excellence and is sent to the police academy. Meanwhile, Yang, a young man who had achieved excellent results at the police academy, is suddenly expelled from the school, and Superintendent Won sees his ability and orders him to infiltrate a black social organization. Ten years The Day After, as the two rise to prominence in their respective organizations, Yang struggles as a police officer, and Lau betrays the organization and tries to become a good person...

The highly acclaimed screenplay by Alan Mack and Felix Chong, in which the two main characters "infiltrate" each other's organizations, is by no means a novel setting. In an interview conducted at the time of the film's release, Tony Léon: The Professional, who plays Yang, clearly stated, ``My role is basically the same as the role I played in ` `Hard- A Better Tomorrow '' (1992).'' . Andy Lau, who played the role of Lau, who was involved in the production from the planning stage, also expressed his intention in creating this work, saying, ``It is difficult to create a hot man's character in Hong Kong after the handover to China, like in `` A Better Tomorrow '' (1986). "I wanted to make a heroic movie (heroic piece) depicting these people."

They did not aim to create a work full of originality to compete with the Hollywood blockbusters that were taking a toll on the declining Hong Kong film industry after the release of `` Jurassic Park '' (1993). The aim was to recapture the soul and passion of Hong Kong cinema, which fascinated so many people in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Hong Kong All Star cast and staff