Last night I watched the excellent Hong Kong police flick, "Infernal Affairs". It went well past midnight, so I am running today on roughly four hours sleep. "IA" is the tale of Lau (Andy Lau), a mobster who enters the police academy in order to make the force and become a mole for his crime boss, Sam. His opposite is Yan (Tony Leung), an exemplary classmate who is expelled so that he can go undercover as a police mole in the mob. Ten years later, Lau has moved swiftly up the ranks in the police while Yan's criminal activities have brought him to a position in Sam's crew. Their paths cross when Yan helps set up a bust of Sam which Lau then sabotages. Both sides realize they have a mole, so Sam puts Lau to work to find him at the same time the police move Lau into internal affairs and entrust him to do the same thing at their end.
I'm going to stop there, which covers roughly the first 20 or so minutes of the film. It's a first-rate police/action film, without the over-the-top violence often associated with such films out of Hong Kong. The version I saw was on The Movie Network, with dubbing instead of subtitles. My own preference is for the titles, because I like to hear the actors speak the words, even if I don't understand them. Nothing takes me more out of the world of a foreign film than bad dubbing, and the job done on a few characters, most horribly Sam, is jarring. But the dubbing of Lau and Yan was excellent, as was the dubbing of Wong, Yan's contact on the police force, and it is these characters who carry the film. The performances of Tony Leung as the tormented Yan, a good man who has to act bad and has paid a huge price (including, it is suggested, losing the love of his life and, possibly, an unknown child by her), and Andy Lau as Lau, a not-so-bad man who has learned to love his life on the police force and doesn't want to lose it, are pure and nuanced, and the ultimate resolution of their relationship is logical, though heartbreaking. A splendid film, and a perfect kickoff to nine days away from the office during which I hope to watch a lot of movies and read a lot of words.
"IA" has been remade by Martin Scorsese as "The Departed", which www.imdb.com indicates is now in post-production for a 2006 release. Relocated to Boston, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio (his new DeNiro?), Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, with turns by Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Anderson, Ray Winstone and Alec Baldwin. As likely as this is to be a pretty good movie, I really wish that some of the millions spent on it had been invested in helping the original find an English-speaking audience. Some people hate subtitles, like my wife, but she still sat through "The Passion of the Christ", and was floored just like I was. "IA", apparently a huge hit back home, deserves to be seen by more than a few adventurers like myself, especially if it means one less person will have to endure garbage like "Cheaper by the Dozen 2".
* * * * *
A few more "Ghost Busters" quotes from screenwriters Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis:
"Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"!"
Winston Zeddemore
"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria."
Peter Venkman
"Sorry, Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."
Egon Spengler
"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass."
Venkman
"You're right, no human being would stack books like this."
Venkman
"Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big, no fee is too big!"
Venkman
Ray Stantz: "I think we'd better split up."
Spengler: "Good idea."
Venkman: "Yeah... we can do more damage that way. "
"We've been going about this all wrong, this Mr. Stay Puft's okay, he's a sailor, he's in New York, we get this guy laid we won't have any trouble."
Venkman
Venkman: "No, no. Just asking. Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?"
Man at Library: "What's has that got to do with it?"
Venkman: "Back off, man. I'm a scientist."
"Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance."
Venkman
"Well, there's something you don't see every day."
Venkman
* * * * *
Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this except for Jonathan.
I'm going to stop there, which covers roughly the first 20 or so minutes of the film. It's a first-rate police/action film, without the over-the-top violence often associated with such films out of Hong Kong. The version I saw was on The Movie Network, with dubbing instead of subtitles. My own preference is for the titles, because I like to hear the actors speak the words, even if I don't understand them. Nothing takes me more out of the world of a foreign film than bad dubbing, and the job done on a few characters, most horribly Sam, is jarring. But the dubbing of Lau and Yan was excellent, as was the dubbing of Wong, Yan's contact on the police force, and it is these characters who carry the film. The performances of Tony Leung as the tormented Yan, a good man who has to act bad and has paid a huge price (including, it is suggested, losing the love of his life and, possibly, an unknown child by her), and Andy Lau as Lau, a not-so-bad man who has learned to love his life on the police force and doesn't want to lose it, are pure and nuanced, and the ultimate resolution of their relationship is logical, though heartbreaking. A splendid film, and a perfect kickoff to nine days away from the office during which I hope to watch a lot of movies and read a lot of words.
"IA" has been remade by Martin Scorsese as "The Departed", which www.imdb.com indicates is now in post-production for a 2006 release. Relocated to Boston, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio (his new DeNiro?), Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, with turns by Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Anderson, Ray Winstone and Alec Baldwin. As likely as this is to be a pretty good movie, I really wish that some of the millions spent on it had been invested in helping the original find an English-speaking audience. Some people hate subtitles, like my wife, but she still sat through "The Passion of the Christ", and was floored just like I was. "IA", apparently a huge hit back home, deserves to be seen by more than a few adventurers like myself, especially if it means one less person will have to endure garbage like "Cheaper by the Dozen 2".
* * * * *
A few more "Ghost Busters" quotes from screenwriters Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis:
"Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"!"
Winston Zeddemore
"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria."
Peter Venkman
"Sorry, Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."
Egon Spengler
"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass."
Venkman
"You're right, no human being would stack books like this."
Venkman
"Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big, no fee is too big!"
Venkman
Ray Stantz: "I think we'd better split up."
Spengler: "Good idea."
Venkman: "Yeah... we can do more damage that way. "
"We've been going about this all wrong, this Mr. Stay Puft's okay, he's a sailor, he's in New York, we get this guy laid we won't have any trouble."
Venkman
Venkman: "No, no. Just asking. Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?"
Man at Library: "What's has that got to do with it?"
Venkman: "Back off, man. I'm a scientist."
"Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance."
Venkman
"Well, there's something you don't see every day."
Venkman
* * * * *
Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this except for Jonathan.
posted by George @ 5:15 a.m.
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