As Tears Go By (1989)

Wong Kar Wai's Promising debut

This is Wong Kar-Wai's debut from 1988. Starring Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau. Fiited with typical 80's ambiant soundtrack and two narrtives told. Being a wong Kar Wai fan I've tried to watch all of his movies over the past couple of months, this has to be incredibly different to the others I've watched. For one thing I haven't watched A Wai film with a gangster feel to it. It was a little odd to start with but for me it did feel realistic and probably very typical to Hong Kong in the 1980's, so, Wai diffently makes a stament there. I enjoyed the hard reality of this gangster feel. I mean when watched Hollywood gangster film I don't usually feel that I can't watch what's going on on screen as it just seems very typical. What Wai does well in his debut is that the violence seems very realistic and not delibertly done in such a wy that is for Hollywood and looses the realism. Naturally there's no Chistopher Doyle's cinemtography in this film as it was his first but the cinempatography isn't bad but not great. Hand-held camera was used a lot so you felt like you were there in the film. Unfortunatly what the movie falls up upon is the love story betwwen Andy Lau's character and Maggie Cheung's. To me it does seem a bit pointless. First of alll it just doesn't seem particularly geuined, almost like a fling but perhaps it could have meant to be that what or not; I just didn't understand that bit. Some of the characters I couldn't figure out, Andy Lau had a brother then he apprently has another younger one- too confusing. Asides that, this is a good debut for the then 30 year old Wong Kar Wai you can diffently seen potential in this film. Overall worth the watch if you're a Wong Kar Wai fan, just don't expect anything outstanding as In The Mood For Love.