Review of Infernal Affairs (2002) by Ian C — 07 Aug 2008

Infernal Affairs is the original Chinese classic that has sparked the controversially successful Scorsese film, The Departed. Throughout the film, a stylish thriller involving the internal and external conflict of two moles unfolds.

Both Tony Leung and Andy Lau give stunning performances to their roles giving insight into their dual identities, the line between them ultimately blurred. At the time, the Asian film cinema was less known in the world and this film was a revolutionary stepping stone toward amazing cinema moving away from the cliched action flicks that it mostly provided.

Unlike the remake, Infernal Affairs handles scenes more subtlely which elevated the tension within. The tone of the film was more centred around the moral grounds of the characters and so needed not the hard-edged feel that The Departed gave.

As such, Infernal Affairs provided an evolutionary standpoint for serious Chinese cinematography.