Asian Cinema Special : Mou gaan dou (infernal affairs)

Yeah, Martin Scorsese got his first Oscar after trying so hard for almost three decades, and for which movie, "the departed" the movie was okay, but the great one was Mou Gaan Dou, the one which "inspired it" (with all due respect, it's a remake)

so the story is an undercover cop named Chan (played by the great Tony Leung Chiu Wai) who has ben sent to infiltrate the Chinese Mafia from a very young age, and an undercover Mobster, inspector Lau(Andy Lau) , who is infiltrating the police of Hong Kong

A deals goes wrong and the Mafia Boss (arguably a better performance then the same role played by Nicholson in the remake) is aware that he has an informer in his ranks, so he sends Lau to investigate, while Chan is getting more and more depressed of his crime life, which leads him to consult a psychic, his assignment taking much longer then the original arrangment he had with his superiour, SuperIntendant Wong (Anthony Wong, Brillant), who is also some kind of a parental figure to him, the plot then gets momentum and slides to a brilliant ending where all the parts confront each other and their past, and where nobody gets away totally clean.

This movie was considered a "revival" of Hong Kong cinema, and has a brilliant plot, a great cast, and above all, a real reflection on the difference between being on one side of the law, or the other, the criminals are depicted as likeable people, to whom it's just a job, and who have a strong loyalty to each other, similar to the cop's loyalty, and the superintendant wong being the best character in this movie, honnest, efficient and honourable, he balances the story, all this in a running time of 100 minutes !!

If you still think that Hong Kong cinema is about a buncha people doing some martial arts acrobaties, this movie is a good starting point to see it as it really is, one of the most innovative cinema centers in the world, and if you are a conoisseur, this movie is still a great movie to watch and admire, and one last note, the original title means "the non-stop path", the lowest level of hell in boudhism, and it's true, what would be worse then being in a situation which you have no means of breaking out of, it would be ....Infernal.

Jebbiness: 4/5