East Asian cinema since time immemorial has aced the thriller and action genre. If it’s Korean Cinema today, it used to be Hong Kong Cinema back then. For starters, Binged recommends one such gem of an action thriller from Hong Kong Cinema to watch during this Christmas weekend. It’s none other than Andrew Lau-Alan Malak directorial ‘Infernal Affairs‘ (2002) starring Hong Kong matinee legends Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Infernal Affairs celebrates 20 years this December, and there’s no better time to recommend this benchmark of a film.
If you’re an ardent movie-buff, Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film The Departed might have not missed your radar. You might be surprised to know, The Departed is a remake of Infernal Affairs, and even went on to win two academy Awards in the year 2006. It’s also quite disappointing that despite Infernal Affairs being Hong Kong’s official entry at the Oscars in 2004, it wasn’t nominated. Now if you are in a mood to give the original film a try, Netflix India is where you should head to. Additionally, Infernal Affairs 2 and Infernal Affairs 3 are also streaming on Netflix India.
The film follows Chan Wing Yan, a policeman, who successfully infiltrates a gang and Wong Chi-Shing, a triad member, who becomes a mole in the Hong Kong police force. However, things change when both of them reach a troubling situation where they ought to seek each other out.
Infernal Affairs is co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak and jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong. It stars Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen in major roles besides the two main leads in Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Watch Infernal Affairs on Netflix India and also catch up on the remaining two parts of the Infernal Affairs trilogy this weekend. If you’re new to Hong Kong Cinema, this film could be the best start for you. Stay tuned for more such recommendations.