Infernal Affairs

Alan Mak had long wanted a police and triad story. His starting point was John Woo’s Face/Off, but he found its science fiction side implausible and reduced it to two men trading identity and state of mind. He and Andrew Lau directed; the script Mak wrote and Felix Chong revised took three years. It first belonged to Andy Lau’s company Teamwork, which a lawsuit stopped from producing it. Gordon Lam was not given the whole script and learned his own character was a mole only in the final scene. A second ending was shot for mainland China, where Article 25 (7) of the film regulations barred works that abet crime; the print shown there and in Malaysia adds an arrest at the lift door. At the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards it drew 16 nominations and won 7: best film, director, screenplay, actor for Tony Leung, supporting actor for Anthony Wong, editing and original song. Three of its own cast were nominated as supporting actor. At the 40th Golden Horse Awards it took best feature film and director. A good fit if you want the tension to come from two men losing hold of who they are, not from gunfire. Not for anyone expecting long fight choreography; the weight sits in the talking scenes.