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Wong Kar-wai describes his first feature as ‘a tragedy set in the big city, focussing on several ordinary characters in a hopeless situation’. It has also been described as ‘an idiosyncratic riff on the plot and themes of Scorsese’s Mean Streets’. Ah Wah (Andy Lau) is an enigmatic hit man who, with his offsider Fly (Jacky Cheung), is, despite himself, dragged into trouble time and time again. The arrival of his cousin (Maggie Cheung) briefly offers hope of escape from the downward spiral. The emphasis is more on atmosphere and interplay between the three characters than upon plot. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
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Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
314605
Language
Chinese
Audience classification
R (18+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Crime films
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Gangster films
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Extortion
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)