Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
"People like us don't have tomorrows", 8 Dec 2006
"As tears go by" is an interesting and cinematographically beautiful film set in Mongkok, a district in Hong Kong. This movie is directed by Won Kar Wai, an artist that can take a premise and develop it so well that the story he tells turns into reality. In this case, that premise is how to tell the story of a person without a future, of someone that believes that "People like us don't have tomorrows". What kind of situation could lead someone to utter such a phrase? If you are interested, just go on reading...
The main character of "As tears go by" is Wah (Andy Lau), a well-known Hong Kong mobster that leads a very dangerous life. He is respected and feared, and has only two objectives in life: to stay alive and to take care of his family. That last objective is a little difficult in what concerns to his younger brother Fly (Jackie Cheung), a young man that wants to belong to a triad, but doesn't have what it takes to be respected in a violent environment.
Wah's life consists basically of dodging bullets and getting his little brother out of trouble, until he meets Ngor (Maggie Cheung), a young cousin that needs to stay at his apartment in order to be treated for an illness. Ngor stays with Wah only for some days, but that is more than enough time to make him fall in love with her. But will that love be compatible with the kind of life Wah leads? And when Ngor returns to Kowloon, will Wah follow her?
The answer to those questions and a few more can be found watching "As tears go by". If you are interested, go for it! From my point of view, this unconventional ganster movie is worth your time.
Belen Alcat
PS: By the way, I give this film 3.5 stars out of 5 :)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
meh, 4 Nov 2007
the location and colour is very good and works extremely well.
the romance between cousins seems a bit sudden. they go from barely looking at each other to suddenly kissing. there wasn't enough obvious exposition or character development between the two for me.
the younger brother fly is very unlikeable and has a very annoying face.
the mandarin dub is of rubbish quality. makes the actors seem quite bad, soap-opera-ish almost. i dont think it would be like this in the original cantonese version.
the music is absolutely terrible, so 80's it will make you cringe.
the sound and picture quality is generally poor.
two very attractive central characters.
i dont like gangster films anyway and hate films about men who can't stand to "loose face" or be disrespected otherwise he has to start a fight. so the general premise of the surrounding characters, consisting mainly of gangsters got on my nerves lots.
if your're interested in wkw go for it (which is why i got it after seeing in the mood for love), but don't expect much.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Mean Streets of Kowloon, 25 April 2006
For those of you who are fans of Martin Scorcese's Mean Streets, you will see many paralels in this film. I am led to believe that it is meant to be a type of remake and is happy to reference it's origin, so no plagarism there.
For me As Tears Go By actually surpasses the original. Perhaps it's chacters, most probably its setting, but there is something about this movie which makes it an overall superior viewing experience.
Both movies took talented young actors and a fresh new director to create something different, something hugely enjoyable but dripping with artistic merit. ATGB shows off the cream of Hong Kong talent for years after its release, (and still if you ask me). Andy Lau is just uber cool. A low level triad who's flaw is his devotion to his "brother" Fly, played amazingly by Jackie Cheung. Whenever Cheung is on the screen your eyes are stuck to it, knowing that anything can happen, and usually does. Maggie Cheung, as Lau's distant cousin, and eventual love interest also gives a first class performance. At times shy and retiring, but equally magnetic it is easy to understand Lau's fascination with her. I shouldn't really need to add that she is beautiful as ever.
The film looks amazing, new wave neon beauty mixed with Hong Kong back street grime. The story, simple but amazing, Shakespearian. A man unable to escape and bound to his life by those around him and his inherent flaws. Somebody caught in the middle of a tug of war between settling down and the gangster life. Somebody who seems to have everything and nothing. This has more action than most Wong Kar Wai films, and it works surprisingly well. The movie is fun, visually stunning and full of great performances. Not as reflective as much of WKW's work which in fact leaves it open to an audience who perhaps dont take to many of his films.
Watch this film from any angle and you will enjoy it. Gangster flick, new wave art picture, world cinema gem. All these pieces of praise are relevant. I'm sure many would put it behind a batch of other WKW films, I feel some due to subject matter snobbery. Agreed it is not as polished or meaningful, but ATGB more than makes up for that in it's showcase of fresh talent of the time and unsurpassed kinetic energy. Chris Doyle does not fall below his usual standards of excellence.
Watch and enjoy.
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