As Tears Go By (1988) [Film Review]

As Tears Go By: or, Stand By Me Older Brother
     At least you were a hotshot for a while. But what about me? Everyone looks down on me. Does that make you happy? People think I'm nothing, like some stray dog just following you around. Did you know that? I'd rather be a hero for one day than go on being a fly all my life.
Charged by Wong Kar Wai's ambience from the previous week, I decided it is high time to watch the director’s film I have not yet seen. That is, his directorial debut, which is often not discussed or mentioned among the critics’ top rundowns of Wong Kar Wai’s filmography. So please, put on your shades, switch on your CRT TV, and let’s take a closer look at As Tears Go By.

Release Info

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

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 旺角卡门 Runtime: 102 min

Synopsis
Wah (Andy Lau) is working for the triad gang as an enforcer. All of a sudden, his distant cousin from Lantau Island called Ngor (Maggie Cheung) comes to Hong Hong to have a medical procedure. Wah hangs out with his best friend Fly (Jacky Cheung), who often gets in trouble with other mobsters because of his hot-headed attitude. When Wah falls for Ngor, Fly has to fight for survival to pay off his debt. Wah rushes to help him.

Glass in the Heart
Evidently, As Tears Go By stands out from the rest of Wong Kar Wai’s auteur masterpieces. It is not a bad movie by any means, but it is apparent from the get-go that the young director desperately wanted to break into the cinematic mainstream, and in the process of doing so, he sacrificed his artistic intentions for the purpose of entertaining the audience.

I believe “commercial product” is the best way to describe this motion picture. As Tears Go By really tries to tap into the typical 1980s trend of violent tales about the triads. Wong Kar Wai even borrows from John Woo and Ringo Lam the familiar motives of modern chivalry and overt bromance vibes between the male protagonists. We get blood, gunfights, and Shakespearean drama. Unfortunately, the love subplot is just for the sake of being there, so the audience could have some emotional anchor to root for the hero.

Under many of these commercial layers, it is hard to uncover the Wong Kar Wai we all know and love, but it is not impossible. By means of cinematography and editing, the auteur filmmaker weaves his passion and sensibility into the fabric of As Tears Go By. In the foreground, it is a story about brotherhood and innocent love, but in the background, the core of everything is Wah who becomes an adult and has to come to terms with decisions he makes.

Perhaps the best example of Wong Kar Wai’s visual subtlety is the 6-minute-long sequence in the course of which Wah is reminiscing among Ngor while listening to Sandy Lam’s sensual cover of “Take My Breath Away”. This sequence is a tell-tale foreshadowing of similar scenes involving music and lyrical loneliness as featured in Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, and beyond. Interestingly, this song was removed in the Mandarin dub of the film and replaced with “You Are The Eternal Pain In My Heart” by Dave Wang and Augustine Yeh.

With regard to performances, Andy Lau is absolutely outstanding as the upright lead with a moral backbone. Maggie Cheung is just as memorable as Ngor, even though her role is very one-dimensional because she plays a kind-hearted love interest. I always found Jacky Cheung to be a very expressive actor, and he cranks up this aspect to the max in his supporting role as Fly.

Recommendations
If you think of WKW’s movies as refined dishes, then this one is junk food. It is delicious, but you know it is junk food nonetheless. Yet, this should not prevent you from enjoying it! In fact, I like this film a bit more than Days of Being Wild mainly because the plot itself was more understandable and accessible. The movie was released in 2021 on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection as part of a special boxset devoted to Wong Kar Wai. I watched my own copy of the film from Mayfly’s double-disc DVD edition, which also contains Days of Being Wild.Overall score: 8/10

«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»