POPCORN REEL MOVIE MAKEOVER
Before there was "The Departed" there was
"INFERNAL AFFAIRS"
Andy Lau in "Infernal Affairs" (All photos: Miramax Films)
It is probably unfair to call Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" a movie makeover.
It is a tremendously good film -- a great film, in fact, and the dialogue as
penned by William Monahan is the best of any film released in North America this
year. Midway through the end credits in small print, is an acknowledgement
of "Infernal Affairs" as the forerunner of "The Departed".
Two of Hong Kong's greatest actors star in "Infernal Affairs", Andy Lau
and the legendary Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, in the mind-bending cat-and-mouse game of
who's-zooming-who as layers of infiltration and deception litters Hong Kong's
top police department division as well as the mob gang that rules the city.
"Infernal
Affairs" ( Wu jian dao) was released in the United States in 2004.
Directed by both Andrew Lau -- who also stars -- and Alan Mak, the film is
actually the third and final installment of the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy.
The dialogue is crackling and the pace and direction of the film is lean and
tight. Coming in at a very tidy 97 minutes it flies by almost effortlessly
yet its paradoxes and surprises absorb the viewer long after the end credits
finish rolling. There is a certain emotional depth that "Infernal Affairs"
has which lack s in its American remake, but the acting in "The Departed" is
better. "The Departed" is also longer, coming in at about two and a
half hours in length. To be fair, with one of the world's best directors
in Martin Scorsese, it is not hard to see why "The Departed" is a formidable
movie. The two films stand on their own as classics. If there is a
way to truly compare the two it would be unfair in any event, as one would need
to look at the three films in the Hong Kong "Infernal Affairs" trilogy.
Unless Mr. Scorsese chooses to make two more masterpieces like the one he
directed, he has a tough act to follow .
"Infernal Affairs" -- not to be confused with "Internal Affairs", the 1990 film
about police corruption and renegade cops that starred Richard Gere and Andy
Garcia -- is an intriguing film and it should be seen, preferably after watching
"The Departed" -- although it really makes little difference which one you see
first. The DVD for "Infernal Affairs" has two different versions -- one
with its original ending and one with an alternate ending. Both the
endings give the film a different emotional resonance -- both endings are
indelible.
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in "Infernal Affairs"
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Andy Lau in "Infernal Affairs"
"Infernal Affairs" is available on DVD. It was released in Hong Kong in
2002. It is available in Cantonese language, or Mandarin language, with
English subtitles or Chinese-language subtitles.