Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 10 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFirst film directed by Kar-Wai Wong.
- GoofsWah and Ngor knock over the ice bucket yet in the following close-up the bucket stands up with water and ice in it.
- Alternate versionsSome home-video releases have different endings, which differ from the original in tone, editing, and duration. There are two of these alternate endings: one which extends the original ending by 2-1/2 minutes, the other an additional 2 minute "happy" ending. Both alternate endings are included on Criterion's Blu-ray release of the film in 2 bonus tracks, and are available for streaming on the Criterion Channel.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Fandor: Borrowing Time with Wong Kar-wai (2018)
Featured review
An impressive debut
Wong Kar-Wai's feature debut is essential viewing for anyone who's been beguiled by his more recent work, but it is really just a slightly more existential take on the standard HK gangster pic. It has more commercial considerations, less emotional complexity (or navel-gazing, if you side with Jackie Chan, who called him "the most boring film-maker on the planet")* than 'Fallen Angels' or 'In the mood for love', but there's much to admire in his idiosyncratic digressions from generic conventions. Maggie Cheung, surely one of HK's finest actresses, but so rarely allowed to prove it, is slightly wasted here. Her performance is pleasingly internal and understated, far-removed from the pseudo-comic mugging she made to enact in the Police Story movies which made her famous, but her character is really just the pining girlfriend, an iconic figure of a better future. I can fully accept Cheung as the embodiment of all that is feminine and comforting in the world, but her role is a slight disappointment given the screen-melting roles Wong handed to Brigitte Lin, Faye Wong, Karen Mok and Cheung herself in later films. And, by the way, this is very violent.
* Jackie Chan also said that Amy Yip was the ugliest woman in the world and that ladies shouldn't fight in movies.
* Jackie Chan also said that Amy Yip was the ugliest woman in the world and that ladies shouldn't fight in movies.
helpful•134
- Puppetmister
- Jul 2, 2001
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- As Tears Go By
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,436
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,279
- May 4, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $13,133
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