As tears go by (1988)

original title: Wang Jiao Ka Men

AS TEARS GO BY, SO DOES YOUR INTEREST.

Director Kar-Wai Wong is regarded as a master class filmmaker, his films such as Chungking Express, Happy Together, and In the Mood For Love have certainly cemented that title for him. However; back in 1988, the now-famous director made his first film called As Tears Go By, a debut that proves that we all have to start somewhere.

The story revolves around Wah (Andy Lau) a cool-as-they-come triad ‘big brother’ who often finds himself in trouble with rival gangs due to the misbehaving of his ‘younger triad brother Fly (Jacky Cheung). The ‘brothers’ are obviously best friends, however; they are constantly at war with each other as Fly is the younger, hot-head who wants to make a name for himself, whilst Wah is the older veteran who just wants to sit back and stay out of trouble. These conflicting attributes continue to drive the pair apart as Wah can’t help but get involved when Fly gets into trouble, so the two of them find themselves repeatedly at war with rival gangs.

Whilst Wah was already less ambitious towards the violent side of things, he soon wants to leave that life completely behind him when he starts falling in love with his distant cousin Ngor (Maggie Cheung). Ngor stays at his house for a short period of time whilst she is in town and the two soon hit it off. When she moves back home, you can tell that the two of them feel as though there is some unfinished business between them. As the story unfolds, Wah ends up running into her again, and eventually, the pair hit it off and are madly in love. However; this all starts to become compromised when Fly ends up getting into something that is way over his head which ends up putting all their lives in danger.

As mentioned earlier Kar-Wai Wong has gone on to make a name for himself through various masterpieces, however; As Tears Go By isn’t one of them. Obviously, this is due to the fact that it is his debut film, he was finding his feet as a director and it certainly shows. Whilst the cinematography is actually quite beautiful, it’s really the only thing worth complimenting, as the rest of the film fails to make an impact. The writing is poor, which ultimately leads to some questionable performances from the cast. Everyone seems too cartoonish and the dialogue is at times cringe-worthy, to say the least. What’s most annoying about this film is the repetitiveness of it all, Fly gets in trouble with a rival gang, Wah has to clean it up, this is on a constant loop for the whole film until the climax. It would have been good to see some different scenarios arise rather than watching the same arc happen over and over again.

The romantic element to this film certainly offered a fresh angle and it’s one that has gone on to benefit Wong’s later films. However; whilst this subplot does raise the emotional stakes, it isn’t handled with enough sentiment for the viewer to really get attached. Also, the incestuous nature of the relationship feels quite odd and off-putting. The action sequences are quite entertaining and add some much-needed excitement to the otherwise uninteresting storyline.

Wong definitely had a vision, however; that vision seemed to become tangled in the inexperience of a first-time director. Too many plot holes and a pre-mature script undoubtedly prevented this film from reaching its potential. Whilst, not an amazing film, it is still good to watch as it helps us understand that even some of the best directors had to start somewhere.    

★★☆☆☆

17 DECEMBER 2018