Marcus' Rating and Review:

Directed by: Wong Kar Wai
Starring: Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Jacky Cheung

"As Tears Go By" may be a must-watch movie for film school students who have decided to write about Wong Kar Wai in their next essay, but for the average audience, it's certainly skip-able. It is Wong's first film, and it was made in 1988 when he was a virtually unknown figure. Wong Kar Wai fans will be delighted when they spot the man's shooting style lurking in the background here and there, but the proximity shared by this film and Wong's other works is very limited. The fact is "As Tears Go By" is a commercial film, and everything from its melodramatic plot to its consistency with the low local production standards at the time mean it is a potential disaster for anyone looking forward to seeing something Wong Kar Wai.

Those who love Hong Kong gangster movies should be quite familiar with the film's plot. We have basically the same ingredients, everything from street violence to loyalty and trust. Maggie Cheung plays a girl named Ah Or, who lives in a remote island off the coast of Hong Kong. Suffering from a flu, she travels to Hong Kong to see the doctor, and while she waits for the results of her medical tests, she seeks accomodation in the house of her cousin, Wah (Andy Lau). Wah is a streetsmart, and he cares much about his buddy Fly (Jacky Cheung), who constantly gets himself into trouble.

Not unexpectedly, Wah soon finds himself falling for Or, but she has to leave to go home. After she departed, Wah gets himself into trouble and decides to seek refuge at Or's home. The two start a passionate relationship, and for a moment Wah finds peace on the little island. However, bad news soon arrive: Fly is in trouble again, and Wah has to leave his lover and risks his life to save his friend again.

The story is imported directly from television drama they show in the local station. The characters are unconvincing and they serve only to provide a few minutes of explicit heroism near the end. Fly is absolutely brainless and you know his actions are gathering momentum throughout the film, and something bad is going to happen in the end. Introduction to his friendship with Wah is brief, and definitely not explained by the film. His stupidity and pitiful stubborness are there just in order to show us how great and loyal a friend Wah is. The ending is supposed to be touching, but I couldn't stop thinking it is a bit superficial, and unrealistic.

The romance between Wah and Or is disappointing, because it is moving so fast that it seems to take leaps. I expect the director to spend more time talking about their getting along in their little paradise, but it turns out all we get are some kissings and love making (though I must say the kissing scene at the phone booth was impressively produced). Their relationship is simply not gripping enough, and just when it is beginning to go to some point of significance, time is already up.

There are some camera tricks that can remind us it is a Wong Kar Wai film we are watching. Some sequences are well produced, such as the final sequence when we hear only sounds and don't see what is going on until later. There are also techniques that have, though only slightly, deviated from the mainstream methods back then, but there are certainly not many of them. The score is lousy and the fact that all the characters in the film are narrated NOT by the actors who play them make the film much less enjoyable. But no matter what, it is always fun to watch the first piece of film by Wong, who had later moved on to produce films that are totally different in nature, and become one of the very best directors of Hong Kong cinema.