My Heart Is That Eternal Rose

Patrick Tam's 1989 Hong Kong film shows how far style can be pushed inside genre. After a smuggling job goes wrong, a young couple are forced apart: she is made to attach herself to a crime boss, he goes to the Philippines to work as a contract killer. Six years later they meet by chance, and when what was between them revives, both are in danger. The story is familiar; where the film separates itself is in light and colour. The neon palette, which Christopher Doyle worked on among the cinematographers, anticipates the look Hong Kong crime cinema would become known for in the following years. Tony Leung appears in support. Few films fold melodrama and violence together this openly. Who it's for: viewers who like Hong Kong crime cinema and visually ambitious genre film. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a realistic crime story and a plot that behaves logically.