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As Tears Go By (film)

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As Tears Go By
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese旺角卡門
Simplified Chinese旺角卡门
Literal meaningMong Kok Carmen
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWàngjiǎo Kǎmén
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWong6gok3 Kaa1mun4
Directed byWong Kar-wai
Written by
Produced byAlan Tang
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Lau
Edited byCheung Pei-tak
Hai Kit-wai
William Chang (uncredited)
Music byDanny Chung
Teddy Robin
Production
company
Distributed byKino International
Release date
  • 9 June 1988 (1988-06-09)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
Box officeHK$11,532,283
(Hong Kong)
$9,436
(United States)[1]

As Tears Go By is a 1988 Hong Kong action crime drama film starring Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Jacky Cheung. The film was the directorial debut of Wong Kar-wai, and was inspired by Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets.[2] The central plot revolves around a small-time triad member trying to keep his friend out of trouble. The film was screened at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, during International Critics' Week.[3]

Plot

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Wah is a mob enforcer in Mong Kok who primarily deals with debt collection. His hotheaded and overambitious friend and protégé, Fly, is less successful, often disrespected and frequently causes trouble. One day, Wah receives a call from his aunt, informing him that his younger cousin Ngor, who works at her family's restaurant on Lantau Island, is visiting Mong Kok for a doctor's appointment and will be staying with him briefly.

Soon after Ngor arrives, Wah leaves to help Fly collect a debt. After the job, Wah goes to see his girlfriend, Mabel, who dumps him as he had become increasingly uncaring, and informs him that she had aborted his baby. Wah stumbles home angry and drunk, and when Ngor tries to console him, he becomes aggressive and threatens to throw her out. The next morning, Wah apologizes to Ngor and offers to take her out to a movie to make up for his behavior.

In order to pay off a loan from a fellow gangster, Tony, Fly makes an unreasonably high bet in a game of snooker. Realizing there is no chance he can win, he makes a run for it with his friend Site. After being chased through the streets, the two are severely beaten by Tony's gang. As Wah and Ngor are about to leave for the movie, Fly arrives, bruised and bloody and carrying an unconscious Site. Wah and Ngor treat their wounds, and Ngor starts to question Wah's line of work. The next day, she returns to Lantau, leaving Wah a note asking him to come to visit someday.

Wah meets with Tony to settle Fly's debt. Unable to pay the interest on the debt, Wah robs the establishment Tony is hired to protect. Insulted by the gambit, Tony takes his grievance to Uncle Kwan, the mob boss, who forces Tony and Wah to reach a compromise. Afterwards, Kwan tells Wah to get Fly under control before he gets himself killed. Conceding that Fly is not cut out for mob work, Wah gets him a legitimate job selling fishballs from a food cart.

Wah runs into Mabel and finds out she is now married. He decides to visit Ngor in Lantau, waiting a whole day before meeting her at the ferry terminal. Over the next few days, Wah helps out at the restaurant and grows closer to Ngor. Meanwhile, Tony insults Fly at his new job. Fly wrecks Tony's car in retaliation, but Tony's gang promptly catches him and beats him near to death. Wah cuts his visit with Ngor short after receiving a call from Tony demanding money in exchange for Fly's life.

Arriving at Tony's place, Wah surprises Tony and holds him at gunpoint, forcing Tony to release Fly. Wah urges Fly to return to his family in the countryside, but Fly refuses. Leaving a bar, they are attacked by Tony and his gang and severely beaten. Fly asks Wah to leave him behind, as he has been a failure and a terrible friend. Wah manages to return to Lantau where Ngor and her doctor treat his wounds. He recovers, and the two rekindle their relationship.

Back in Mong Kok, Uncle Kwan gives Tony a job to assassinate an informant; Tony is unwilling to accept what is essentially a suicide mission. Fly offers to take the job instead and humiliates Tony, prompting Tony's thugs to abandon him in disgust. Hearing the news, Wah tracks Fly down and attempts in vain to talk him out of the hit. At the police station, Fly shoots but fails to kill the informant, and is gunned down by the police. Arriving just in time, Wah grabs Fly's gun and finishes the job before being gunned down himself. As he lies dying, he remembers his first kiss with Ngor.

Cast

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Release

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Home media

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The film debuted on the Blu-ray format in the United States on January 20, 2009. The disc, released by MegaStar, has since gone out of print.[4]

The film was released on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection on March 23, 2021 in a collection of 7 Wong Kar-wai films.[5]

Box office

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During its initial Hong Kong theatrical run, As Tears Go By grossed HK$11,532,283. Until the release of The Grandmaster in January 2013, it was Wong Kar-wai's highest-grossing film in Hong Kong.

Reception

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A retrospective review for The New York Times finds that "As Tears Go By heralds a new vision not yet in perfect focus."[6]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an acceptance rating of 85% based on 13 reviews with an average score of 6.80/10,[7] On Metacritic the film has a score of 67% based on 12 reviews indicating “Generally Favourable Reviews”[8]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations
Ceremony Category Recipient Outcome
8th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Film As Tears Go By Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actor Andy Lau Nominated
Best Actress Maggie Cheung Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jacky Cheung Won
Alex Man Nominated
Best Cinematography Andrew Lau Nominated
Best Film Editing Cheung Pei-tak Nominated
Best Art Direction William Chang Won
Best Original Film Score Danny Chung Nominated
25th Golden Horse Awards Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "As Tears Go By". BoxOfficeMojo.com. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  2. ^ Mottram, James (7 December 2014). "Wong Kar-Wai interview: the revered film director on returning to his first love - kung fu". The Independent. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  3. ^ Bettinson, Gary (2014). The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai: Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. xvi. ISBN 978-9888139293.
  4. ^ "As Tears Go by Blu-ray Release Date January 20, 2009".
  5. ^ "World of Wong Kar Wai Blu-ray Release Date March 23, 2021".
  6. ^ Lee, Nathan (2 May 2008). "Struck by Love in a Moody Underworld". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  7. ^ "As Tears Go By | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  8. ^ "As Tears Go By (1988)". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
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