Synopsis
Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
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Cast
- Andy LauAh Wah
- Maggie CheungAh Ngor
- Jacky CheungFly
- Alex ManTony
- Wong AauMabel
- Ronald Wong BanAh Sai
- Chan Chi-FaiBilliard Parlor Thug
- William Chang Suk-PingNgor's Doctor
- Benz Kong To-HoiFat Carl
- Wong Kim-FungTony's Thug
Recommendations
- 88
LarsenOnFilm
Right out of the gate—and even working within the modern Hong Kong gangster genre—Wong Kar-wai burst onto the screen as a strikingly unique talent. This is clearly a filmmaker less interested in plot and dialogue than he is in movement, music, and color—no matter the time, place, or story. - 80
Chicago Reader
Some of the editing has a giddy, overeager quality, the natural excess of a young prodigy, but when the action and the tempo align, the results are exhilarating: an early brawl in a pool hall fairly leaps off the screen. - 80
Village Voice
Ostensibly a conventional tale of triad loyalty, As Tears Go By announced the presence of a genuine Hong Kong new wave—as well as an ambitious cineaste. - 75
Boston Globe
This sounds like a fairly standard debut. But Wong smothers the story with tremendous style. Some directors give you a healthy ratio of mashed potatoes to gravy. Wong seems not at all to care for the potatoes. - 75
New York Post
As Tears Go By doesn’t measure up to Wong’s later classics, such as In the Mood for Love (2000) and Chungking Express (1994), but it shows a master in the making. - 75
The Seattle Times
Violent, sentimental and profane, "Tears" crosses cool, hi-tech photography with a savage realism. [08 May 1990, p.3] - 60
Time Out
If it fails, ultimately, it's because the relationship between the rational gangster Lau and the impetuous Jacky Cheung never really rings true. A cut above the usual HK action melodrama all the same. - 60
Wall Street Journal
Quick cuts, jangly ’80 synth music and an impressive pool-hall tracking shot distinguish the picture, but the familiar tropes of Hong Kong cinema, including predictable fight sequences and a moralizing conclusion, subtract from its appeal.
