• 無間道 (Infernal Affairs)

10/19/25 (Sun)

Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s 2002 classic was not only a big hit in its own right but spawned a prequel, a sequel, a TV series, and adaptations in Korea, Japan, India and America (Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed). So I figured it’s about time I caught up with it. The Chinese title, “The Endless Road”, refers to the eternal sufferings of Buddhist hell, described more fully at the beginning and end of the film. That would have made for a memorable English title, but as it happens they found a terrific substitute. I wish Japanese title-makers were this creative.

Lau (Andy Lau), a young member of an infamous triad, has been planted with the police as a spy to protect the group’s drug trade. Meanwhile, Chan (Tony Leung), a young policeman (who had unknowingly nearly joined the triad at the same time as Lau), has conversely been planted with the triad to suss out their movements. Lau has risen rapidly in his job and is now a top inspector, giving him an air of respectability. Chan, on the other hand, was supposedly ejected from the Police Academy but in reality given an undercover identity as a crook, a life he has been leading for the past ten years. When a drug deal goes wrong on both ends – Chan leads the police to a drug deal, but Lau helps the mob abort just in time – the police and triad each realize that a mole is in their ranks. The bosses task none other than Lau and Chan, the moles themselves, with finding the perpetrator. The resulting cat-and-mouse game results in the death of both bosses, among others, and a final showdown between the spies after a chance clue reveals their identities. The end came as a total shock. Suffice it to say that good doesn’t always triumph, though the guilt and pain at the end will haunt the survivor for life as in the Buddhist hell of the title.

The tightly wound plot is extremely well constructed, maintaining the tension through a strong storyline and sharp characterization. I could have done without most of the flashbacks, but that was a minor irritant. The film had little of the blood and over-the-top action scenes that characterize the genre, making this an outlier in a very good way.

The one aspect that lifted this above other action films was the question of identity as both of the main characters came to question their lives. Lau is presenting himself as a force for good when in fact he’s undermining the cops and society, especially the superior who has been so kind to him. He’s lying even to his own wife and perhaps to himself as well. On the other hand, Chan, who really is the good guy, has had to pretend to be low life for a decade now, his identity known only to a single person in the police department. He wants out, but his position in the triad makes that difficult. The two actually meet at one point at a stereo store where Chan is working part time when Lau comes to buy a speaker, neither of course knowing the other. It is telling that Chan actually recommends a cheaper place to Lau for certain parts, raising his boss’s ire but suggesting his inner goodness. The song playing in the store, Tsai Chin’s “Forgotten Times” (被遺忘的時光), goes, “Who is it knocking on my window? / Who is it stirring the [instrument’s] strings?” The question “who is it?” seems to reflect that search for identity. Tsai sings of the “happy memories slowly coming back to me”. While this was an earlier song not written for the film, its reappearance in several instances – and reportedly in the sequels – hints at deeper themes.

My only real gripe was the love interest given to each of the moles, largely extraneous scenes seemingly tacked on to throw a few females in the mix. Lau’s wife can’t decide whether the main character in her upcoming novel should be a hero or villain, an overly obvious link to Lau’s character. Meanwhile, Chan’s relation with his female analyst may have been an attempt to show his complicated mindset as he struggles with his identity, but it comes off as cheap. It should have been left on the cutting room floor. Otherwise, the script by Alan Mak and Felix Chong was impeccable.

Lau the actor (no relation to the director) and Tony Cheung do spectacular work here in finely controlled performances, benefitting from expertly written characters with unusual depth. Both are at the peak of their powers. Loved Tony’s beard. They are given tremendous backup by Anthony Wong as the police chief and Eric Tsang as the triad boss among an all-around great cast. Director Andrew Lau keeps things moving at a swift pace in an impressively un-showy style. I had not anticipated a suspense film of this caliber. Two thumbs up.