Infernal Affairs Essay Example

to draw and enhance the attentions. I choose Infernal Affairs because its plot can deeply draw my attentions and I am interested for further analyze.

After the release of Infernal Affairs, it won a standing ovation from the audience. The lay public praises this film as the most successful piece among the Hong Kong gangster movies. A plethora of gangster movies appeared in the Southeast Asia after its success. L Infernal Affairs gained a series of awards and nominations.

It won the best picture of the 40th Golden Horse Awards, best foreign language film of the 46th Blue Ribbon Awards, best film of the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards and the list goes on. The Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor of the 1 1 the Chlorides Awards and the

Grand Pix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics are included for the nominations. These proved the film's quality and the high value to be reviewed. The aforementioned Information arouses my Interest towards Infernal Affairs and I decide to study deeper In order to realize what Is the unique and special about It. Thus, I choose this movie to review.

Focus: This film review is going to divide into two parts to analyze, which are the theme of Infernal Affairs and the construction of characters. Body Brief summary of plot: which will enter the police force soon.

His organization aims to expand by gaining intelligence from these moles. Luau Kin-Mining is the most aggressive one among them.

Luau becomes a senior inspector within a decade. At the same time, Wong Chi-Shining, superintendent of police, picks one talented newcomer, Chant Wing-Yang, as an undercover agent. Chant becomes

a right-hand man of Hon. Sam inside a three years time.

A fierce fight starts when the two parties are trying to detect the hiding traitors. Both Chant and Luau start confusing with their double identities simultaneously. Chant feels tired about his career and hates being a gangster anymore.

Luau gets used to his police officer life and hopes to erase his criminal background.

Chant's boss Wong is killed by trait members and Luau contacts Chant via Wong cellophane. They plan a joint action to arrest Hon.. Nevertheless, Luau kills Hon. due to the desire to delete his criminal past. Chant knows Luau's secret in his office soon.

Lastly, they negotiate on rooftop. Luau begs Chant to forgive him and let him keep maintaining his current living. However, Chant refuses. Luau reminds Chant he is no longer a cop because Luau deleted his undercover record. Chant climaxes the atmosphere when he points his gun at Luau's head.

Luau's subordinate arrives to rescue him.

Chant holds Luau as a stage and is killed when he is entering a lift. Luau's subordinate confesses he is also a mole from Hone's party. Ultimately, Luau kills him when the lift is heading to lobby and ends the mole hunt. The main theme: The directors pay much effort to reveal the bitterness of being a mole. The theme surrounds the helplessness of being moles that they do not have choices and clear identities.

Infernal Affairs begins with reference to a Buddhist sutra: "The worst of the eight hells is continuous hell - it has the meaning of continuous suffering. 2 It is a kind of suffering which people's souls keeps

being burnt. There is no break to rest or place to hide during the suffering. It is generally accepted this is a severe punishment which sinners are likely to receive when they die. This is presumably a subtle metaphor of protagonists in the story.

The movie name is related to hell as well. It represents three elements, which are uninterrupted time, unlimited space and boundless suffering. Both protagonists' struggles between their external and internal identities respond this theme. Chant Wing-Yang, an undercover agent, lives in fear everyday.

He scarifies his young, health and relationships with others. Losing the social identity, he does not receive any support except those from his head Wong Chi-Shining.

Family and lover despise and abandon him. For example, his ex-girlfriend leaves and sorely raises their daughter. She even chooses not to inform Chant when he is standing in front of his daughter. Chant experiences numerous of dangers for nearly ten years. Although he feels tired of undercover living, he cannot choose another way of living.

One scene on the rooftop where Chant and Wong meet, Chant tells Wong that he wants to quit yet Wong refuses and gives him a watch as gift.

Given that their conversation is about he time of Chant working as a mole in the traits, the gift concretions his hard time for nearly a decade. Chant needs to receive psychological treatment from Dry. Lee (Kelly Chem. Way-Lam) due to his successive violent behaviors.

Chant can only sleep well on her clinic's sofa because he feels safe inside the clinic when comparing to his dangerous trait member life outside. In addition, he cannot reveal his real identity

to the only place he can tell the truth. These reiterate the bitterness of undercover life. Luau Kin-Mining, a triad member, infiltrates into the police force.

He is suffering as well.

The fade that he is facing a promising career future and gaining college's respect is a spiritual torture for him. He is not allowed to show the true self to his lover and colleges. He feels tired that he cannot show his true side to the people surrounding him. One scene inside Luau's office show struggles between his double identities. He stares at his police identity card and soon he turns it up side down.

This action may symbolize he feel confused towards his identity. He encounters struggles in his mind when his post is being promoted in the police office. He has no choice to make once he is under the triad boss Hon. Cam's control.

This is because Hon. Sam can uncover his real identity of being a triad member if Luau betrays him. These emptiness and meaningless occurs in protagonists' life may tantamount to a living in the hell. This is the main focus of Infernal Affairs.

In addition, rooftop may play an auxiliary role in the theme. It is the meeting place of Wong and Chant, Luau and Chant. Although Chant Wing-Yang is an undercover agent, he chooses to expose himself under the sunlight. This may be because he believes he is doing the right thing. The directors are probably upholding righteousness in this subtle way and the rooftop may be a token humbly of Justice.

The construction of characters: Chant Wing-Yang lives a tragic life in the whole film.

His boss and partner dead in front of him make him feel guilty. His boss keeps silence in front of the trait members so that they cannot discover the traitor, namely Chant; His partner keeps loyalty and does not betray Chant when Chant's Job might betray him. These people are trying to protect Chant in different ways but Chant can only do nothing and watch them pass away. Therefore, his life is conceivably tantamount to a hell suffering. However, Chant's death in the end may be a token symbol of the end of suffering.

That is original boss was killed and Luau Kin-Mining deleted his police file in the system means no one can substantiate and recover his police identity anymore. However, he gains his "police" identity back by himself when he is pointing the gun at Luau's head. This action is perhaps the essential evidence to manifest that he is a "good guy'. Looking at his tranquil eyes when he dead, the movie may imply that Chant frees himself from the torturing of hell.

Apart from Chant, Luau Kin-Mining is a tragic role as well. The scene that Luau stares at his police identity card and turns it up side down at last shows the conflict inside his mind.

His subjective mind may try to escape from the triad's control but the objective environment does not allow him to do so. He thinks once he eliminates the triad boss Hon. Sam, he can end everything at first. Lamentably, Chant discovers his secret after Luau killing the boss.

Although Luau kills everyone who knows his secret, he cannot stop his endless suffering. This is because

the fundamental and biggest enemy he meets is actually himself. Although his soul is eaten by devils already, Luau can hardly hide this sad truth in front of his heart. Hence, he has no more enemies seemingly yet he is still living in the hell.

In the construction of character, there is a confrontation between good and evil.

It involves the boss of Chant, Wong Chi-Shining and Luau Kin-Mining. Wong Chi-Shining keeps loyalty to his work in a subtle way. At the first rooftop scene, Chant hopes to resign his gives Chant a watch, Chant thinks it may be some sort of surveillance device. The truth is Wong remembers Chant's birthday and choose that watch as a gift. While they are talking on the rooftop, Wong keeps not looking at Chant's eyes directly.

This can interpret that Wong is ashamed and uneasy due to his helplessness towards Chant's resignation request.

In order to protect Chant, Wong scarifies himself at last. This speaks one voice with his Job duty, superintendent of police. He concerns the safe of his subordinate, Chant and even loses his life in order to keep Chant from dangers.

On the contrary, Luau Kin-Mining does not keep loyalty to his real identity. As a trait member, he should adhere to his boss, Hon. Sam, order. However, Luau betrays him and kills him because of his self-interest. He uses his social identity "police" to eliminate another mole from the traits again. 4 This tells Luau is still a "bad guy' when he is trying his very best to be a "good guy'.

The movie may try to reiterate the audience that Luau is not

struggling to thoroughly reform himself yet he considers everything for his own interest. Although Luau is suffering between his double identities like Chant Wing-Yang, he is still a villain from beginning to end of the movie. Conclusion: The Infernal Affairs is talking about the bitterness of being a mole, which cannot gain a clear identity and need to betray others. In this film review, various aspects are discussed with the main focus on the theme and the construction of characters. This is a masterwork among Hong Kong gangsters movie.