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Popular Culture in East AsiaMain MenuPostsImage WorkshopMedia ProjectGroup FacilitationFinal ReflectionAuthorShort Bioteryn citro33697a519a64839b430f061818026483f5143e7c
Infernal Affairs
1media/InfernalAffairs-1600x900-c-default.jpg2018-12-03T02:23:20-08:00teryn citro33697a519a64839b430f061818026483f5143e7c322484plain8235872018-12-03T17:34:24-08:00teryn citro33697a519a64839b430f061818026483f5143e7cTo start with, the experience I get from watching Infernal Affairs is not the same as watching any other action movies. Beside its deep plot twist in the movie, Infernal Affairs characters were played by the uppermost Hong Kong actors, such as Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, and Eric Tsang which get this movie extra points. Different from other action movies, Infernal Affairs’ plot is not about gun vs gun, however it is about minds vs minds. Watching this, you got the suspense feeling even though you won’t see the actions. In other words, you will feel their battle and it’s a great experience. This movie doesn’t just make you following their plot, but they make you think during the whole movie because every single action by the character has its subtle meaning. Their entire plot is thought-provoking. And if you look closely, we can see the modern lifestyle of the Chinese in here. The technological convenience that Lau and Chan pretense. For instance, they use their phone and computers as much as they use their weapons. This conveys the message of a community that has embraced a modern lifestyle and advancement in technology. Hence, it is fitting that Lau and Chan meet after a long time in a tech store. As well as their embracing the advancement of modern lifestyle, the characters go back to old school to communicate when their phones were wired. They use Morse Code to signal each other. For me, I think it depicts that even though the modern urban lifestyle was great, we as the community still need to remember the traditional way. Moreover, if we compared this movie to the Western remake, The Departed by Scorsese, Infernal Affairs is very economical in using their scope. They are time efficient. With about an hour shorter, Infernal Affairs could tell the same story. In addition to that, we got the kind of Hong Kong cinema experience where when the main characters die. We got the black and white flashbacks with a melodramatic pop music that are too sentimental in Western movie. I think watching the original version makes you really in the moment compared to watching the re-make.