Infernal Affairs

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Movie
German title Infernal Affairs
Original title 無間道  /  无间道
Mou 4 gaan 3 dou 6
Country of production Hong Kong
original language Cantonese
Publishing year 2002
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Andrew Lau,
Alan Mak
script Felix Chong ,
Alan Mak
production Andrew Lau
music Chan Kwong Wing
camera Lai Jiu-Fai
cut Curran Pang,
Danny Pang
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Infernal Affairs II

Infernal Affairs ( Chinese  無間道  /  无间道 , Pinyin Wújiàndào , Jyutping Mou 4 gaan 3 dou 6 ) is a Chinese gangster film / thriller directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak from 2002. Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai play the leading roles .

The Chinese original title alludes to the lowest level of hell in Buddhism , the German TV title is therefore Infernal Affairs - Die eightchte Hölle . The English title is based on Dante's Inferno and the department for internal investigations in the police.

action

Hong Kong's police chief Wong instructs undercover investigator Chen Wing Yan, who was already recruited as a cadet for undercover operations, to win the trust of the triad leader Hon Sam for himself. Sam, on the other hand, sent several young members of his organization to the police school years ago to infiltrate the Hong Kong police. His protégé Lau Kin Ming, who made a career and now serves under Wong, is one of these moles . After a failed transfer, the police and the criminals become aware of each other's shadowing and the search for the informers begins. Wong and Sam use their best men for the respective manhunt: Yan and Ming are on their own. Both want to leave their dodgy past behind and take on themselves a deadly cat-and-mouse game (in which the two only meet at the very end) for their freedom, to which first Wong, then Sam fall victim. Ming is celebrated as the new police chief, but his conscience and the bloody trail of his steep career plague him.

Yan, whose true identity only the now dead Inspector Wong knew, finally recognizes the long-sought mole in his new superior, Ming. Ming also realizes that Yan is on him, and so after he gets to Wong's files, he deletes his data. Yan, however, finally places Ming on the roof of a skyscraper and demands his true identity back from him, but above all he wants to get away unscathed. Yan arrests Ming, but Ming is rescued by a police officer who was one of the men Sam smuggled in years ago, who shoots Yan; Ming shoots the other mole himself, and the film ends with the honorable funeral of Yan. The psychologist with whom Yan was previously treated is also present; in the process, both have come closer and closer over time.

An alternative ending was designed especially for the market in the People's Republic of China , in which Ming is exposed and arrested - which, however, contradicts Part 3 (see below).

Reviews

"Excellently cast and staged, the complex structured thriller delivers extraordinary suspense cinema, but is no less fascinating than a character study that reflects under the surface elementary topics such as the fascination of evil, temptation, guilt and atonement as well as the relativity of awareness of injustice."

- Lexicon of international film

Emergence

Andy Lau was already one of the highest-earning entertainers in the film metropolis Hong Kong when he agreed to take on the lead role in Infernal Affairs . The intelligent script , which created tension even without excessive violence and rather built on psychological depth, ultimately also convinced Tony Leung Chiu Wai , who had been an internationally acclaimed film star at least since In the Mood for Love . Christopher Doyle was hired as a visual consultant .

success

Immediately after its release in December 2002 , Infernal Affairs became a blockbuster and grossed 55 million Hong Kong dollars (the equivalent of almost six million euros) in Hong Kong .

As the biggest success of the season, it won the important Hong Kong Film Awards in the categories of Best Film , Best Director , Best Screenplay , Best Actor ( Andy Lau ), Best Supporting Actor ( Anthony Wong Chau-Sang ), Best Editing and Best Song for wu jian dao (sung by Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai ). The Hong Kong Critics' Association also awarded the Best Actor Award to Anthony Wong Chau-Sang.

The authors and directors lost no time and already presented the prequel Infernal Affairs II and the sequel Infernal Affairs III in 2003 , both of which were celebrated by the audience and critics, but could not quite build on the success of the first part.

In 2006, directed by Martin Scorseses, the American remake Departed was created , in which Leonardo DiCaprio (as an undercover policeman) and Matt Damon (as a mole in the police force) played the leading roles. The location was moved to Boston and the triads were exchanged for the Irish mafia.

Trivia

In addition to the Hong Kong film trilogy of “Infernal Affairs”, a web series of the same name ( 無間道 - 網絡 劇  /  无间道 - 网络 剧  - “Infernal Affairs - Webseries”) has existed since the end of 2016 as a continuation of the story with mostly new protagonists and actors . It is a China - Hong Kong co-production by IQiyi (PR China) and Media Asia Group (Hong Kong) for the Chinese market, distributed via the video platform IQiyi (36-part web version) online and via the TVB in Hong Kong (30 -part TV version or myTV Super Streaming version).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for Infernal Affairs . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2004 (PDF; test number: 97 251 V / DVD).
  2. ↑ Internal Affairs in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used
  3. ^ Nicolas Jucha: Infernal Affairs: The Hong Kong box office miracle. gbtimes.com, July 20, 2011, accessed October 10, 2014 .
  4. ↑ 《無間道》 電視 版 每集 百萬 成本, 羅嘉良 羅仲謙 擔 正 預計 點擊 過億. Infernal Affairs (2016) - “With a million budget per TV episode”, estimate Gallen Lo and Him Law, “over 100 million clicks should n't be a problem.” In: www.hk01.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese).
  5. ↑ 无间道 無間道 (2016) - "Infernal Affairs (2016)". In: douban.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese).
  6. ↑ 无间道 無間道 (2016) - "Poster from Infernal Affairs (2016)". In: fbcdn.net. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese).
  7. ↑ 无间道 电视剧 (2016) - Infernal Affairs (2016). In: www.iqiyi.com . Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese).
  8. ↑ TVB 剪 走 6 集 廣東話 原音 播 - 監製 梁家 樹 ： 最 緊要 觀眾 明 - "TVB has cut the Cantonese original version by six episodes" - producer Tommy Leung says: "The main thing (the story) is understandable for the audience. “ In: www.hk01.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese).
  9. ↑ TVB - myTV Super - Infernal Affairs (2016). In: www.tvbusa.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese, English).
  10. ↑ TVBUSA - Infernal Affairs (2016). In: www.tvbusa.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019 (Chinese, English).