From "Infatuation Division".
Last Saturday, I listened to "The Infatuation Division" in its entirety for the first time at the Crooked Works Exhibition -- I had only heard its name before. After He Bingshun's piano sound and Joey Yung's chorus were scattered around the stage, I was stunned. After listening to it again and again, even the dream that I got into during the afternoon nap was dyed white by the song. The crooked and boring person who has always shown people with an unruly image, this recalls the common ghost horses, hippies and hot and ruthless in the words. It seems that Lord Xi is possessed and wrote the "Dream of Red Mansions".
Crooked and unrestrained, and the lyrics are not chosen in thickness, such delicate and smooth works as "Infatuation Division" are hard to come by. Just the line in the chorus, "Actually, you and I, the beautiful dream, have already run out of breath, and it is useless to start over again." It can be used as a footnote to many great tragedies.
Fifteen years ago yesterday, "Infernal Affairs" was officially released in Hong Kong.
My first contact with it was in 2003. At that time, the 21-inch rear-projection TV at home could only receive two channel signals pitifully, and the DVD player was still a dull VCD that needed to be played manually. When my father had nothing to do, he would lead me to the DVD rental shop in front of my house, and a large stream of light danced after the rapid rotation of the CDs, which became my most delicious snack. "Infernal Affairs" followed a large number of Hong Kong films to the seven-year-old child who was full of curiosity. I can still remember how enthusiastically the female shopkeeper recommended it to us: it's been on fire recently, and so many people rented it that it almost cost me the plate. Those of you who have good things to think about you regular customers, it's just me!
In the end, I don’t know the taste of youth. To be honest, I didn’t taste any good about it at all: it was cold and stuffy—there was no densely intertwined gunfire, no fist-fighting fights, “Infernal Affairs” is more like a An old man with steady steps walked forward without turning his head, and stopped abruptly at the most unpredictable place for us. At that age, watching movies for me was nothing more than pursuing a hot and fun experience, and the taste of "Infernal Affairs" was really too bland. The benchmark at that time was Jackie Chan's "Police Story".
Years later, I sat in front of the computer calmly, picked it up again, and couldn't help but sigh, "It's too early to meet you." The calm atmosphere revealed by getting rid of the excessive and crazy characteristics of Hong Kong films was injected into Chen Yongren, who has a cool face, mixed identities but a clear stand. Much of it turned into a wine that fascinated me over the long years.
Whether it's for the sake of fine taste or compensation, in short, I began to re-watch it over and over again, and discovered its new "goodness" again and again, revealing and secretive, but myriads of feelings finally settled only for The whispers that are constantly flowing in your head for yourself to chew are like you have a strong affection for a girl you like, but you can't express it in accurate words. Fortunately, along the way, the outstanding film works on the way are naturally vast, but after seeing many mountains and rivers, I can still go back here today, with an appreciation that has never diminished. It sounds.
As a Hong Kong film, the story of "Infernal Affairs" is characterized by calmness and restraint: within 100 minutes, it completes the transition and transition in a relaxed manner; the characters in "Infernal Affairs" are wonderful in their clear positioning and rich levels: whether they are physical or psychological Chen Yongren and Liu Jianming, who are the protagonists, and Han Chen and Huang Sir, who are the supporting roles, have all acted as pawns in this game, but in the collision of black and white, none of the characters have been masked. , instead showing different temperatures in the cool atmosphere.
And so many years have passed, it is not difficult to find that when talking about the tragedy of "Infernal Affairs", people can't help but cite words such as "destiny", jump out of the whole film, and sublimate the theme. Is it cliché? Conventional, but unavoidable, what can be avoided is the lack of generality. Tragedy is born out of an irreducible contradiction, and when it reaches a dead end, there is a foothold in talking about the fate that is attached to death.
In the scenes of "Infernal Affairs", almost everyone can't choose their own path, black or white, good or bad -- these people, even if their identities are ambiguous and their futures are unpredictable, they can only follow the path that goes against their hearts Go on, in exchange for survival. Of course, you can easily and correctly say: the good and evil, right and wrong in this world are clearly divided by modern civilization when everyone is born into the world. The opposition of Infernal Affairs gives a beautiful answer - the underworld group to which Liu Jianming belongs should be destroyed by Chen Yongren's police force. But what makes a work of art beyond reality is that it can provide a special value. We put all of this in front of our existence, and all the boundaries seem to be shattered—there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, there are The only thing is that two or more individuals who can't help themselves survive and see the sun rising on the other side of the dream. The dual identities that coexist but are opposites make one of them unwilling to be eroded and assimilated by evil forces, and the other is eager to get rid of the past that is difficult to see.
It's a pity that when Liu Jianming said "I want to be a good person now" half pleading and half bitterly, but he couldn't do it, when Chen Yongren firmly said "I'm sorry, I'm a policeman" in exchange for an almost mocking "Who knows?" In the end, whether it is the living or the dead, they are all poor people who are overwhelmed by fate that cannot be changed.
Infernal Affairs is a path that has an entry and no exit.
"Infernal Affairs" off the screen is very beautiful, and the limelight is always there. It was the Hong Kong box office champion that year, and he won all the important awards except for the best actress at the 22nd Academy Awards (that was Tony Leung's first time, and it may be the only time to rely on a non-Wong Kar Wai movie at the door of the house. After Martin Scorsese bought the copyright, he made "The Departed", and even won the Oscar for best picture and best director. This darling of the sky must have been placed high hopes by the Hong Kong people at that time, hoping that the declining Hong Kong film can take advantage of this shareholder wind to take care of the fan again; unfortunately, but it is almost doomed that "Infernal Affairs" has become the new century's film. The last flash.
"Actually, the dream of you and me has already been exhausted, and it is useless to start over again."
Fifteen years, everything seems to have changed, everything seems to remain the same, the vast life is like a wilderness, I occasionally immerse in the strong sense of loneliness rendered by "Infernal Affairs", and this sense of loneliness has continued to 2017. , It's really incredible to say--today, Hong Kong directors have "going north" to dig new roads. Many people are talking about "Hong Kong film is dead", criticizing its roughness, perfunctory, cleverness and quick success. I am nostalgic for this predicament, but I can’t let go of my obsession with hatred of the family and country, righteousness, heroic courage and love between children in the turbulent world; what makes these pictures come alive again is not mourning for the loss of life emotions, but the reproducing power of images.
From this point of view, I have no reason not to cherish this film, which was born in the early 21st century. It shows me that in extremely bad times, even if the decline of Hong Kong film is irreversible, there are still filmmakers who put their hearts and souls into it. To recreate scenes from its heyday, to cast a final and magnificent glimpse of the still-living Hong Kong cinema. I am glad that I was still able to love it with infatuation and unchanging my original intention when I clearly realized that all my love for Hong Kong movies so far is tantamount to clinging. The splendid time sealed in words.
View more about Infernal Affairs reviews
