Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, Fulltime Killer) stars as a young gangster trying to keep his friend out of trouble in cult director Wong Kar-Wai’s debut movie.

These days Wong Kar Wai is better known for stylish romantic dramas like In the Mood for Love, Chunking Express and Days of Being Wild, in which beautiful people mooch about contemplating their romantic failures, with an eclectic but brilliant soundtrack playing in the background.

As Tears Go By is a fairly straight-forward genre picture in comparison. Essentially it is Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets relocated to Hong Kong. Wah (Lau) plays the wiser Harvey Keitel type, while Jacky Cheung takes on the De Niro role as Jacky, a hot-head who can’t stay out of trouble.

Wah has no real interest in rising through the ranks, but Jacky wants to become a big-time Triad. Wah however is more interested in his cousin Ngor (Maggie Cheung Hero), who has come to stay with him while she seeks treatment in Hong Kong for a medical condition. Wah’s lifestyle proves to be a stumbling block for them though, especially when Jacky angers a local Triad boss.

It is fascinating for admirers of Wong Kar-Wai’s later films to watch him attempt what writer Rick Baker termed a ‘Heroic Bloodshed’ movie; the type of film usually made by John Woo or Ringo Lam in which gunplay, honour and redemption are the main ingredients. Although there’s plenty of action, there are noticeable touches that predict the kind of films he would go on to make.

The most obvious is a sequence beginning in a bar in Hong Kong and ending outside a train station in Lantau Island. Wah is happily socialising, until the jukebox lines up a Cantonese version of the Berlin hit ‘Take My Breath Away,’ reminding him of Ngor and sending him on a journey to find her. It is a mixture of everything that makes Kar-Wai great, pop culture, neon lights, beautiful stars and romantic sentiment.

Of course Jacky messes everything up, leading to Wah returning to Hong Kong for a violent showdown with his rivals. Lau is as terrific as ever, even managing to make 80’s sunglasses look cool, while he’s no slouch in the action department either, happily wading in to opponents using his martial arts skills, or a really big machete. Cheung is astonishingly beautiful; no wonder Kar-Wai used her again in Days of Being Wild, the martial arts epic Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love and 2046.

Even if you care very little for Wong Kar-Wai’s status as an international art-house darling, As Tears Go By has more than enough to satisfy the blood thirstiest of action fans.

Kevin S