Initially grandstanding as another generic rendition of the triad genre, Wong Kar-wai's directorial debut breaks out of its mould after a labored head start. Intersecting now-trademark aesthetics – the fragmented slow-motion visuals, for instance – with melodrama and hard-boiled violence (unusually, for a Wong film), As Tears Go By gradually transcends into pseudo-avant-gardism, taking a stock Hong Kong genre and reinvigorating both content and form.

For the well-schooled, we also get the obligatory Wong Kar-wai jukebox sequence, regurgitating a prolonged Canto-pop version of "Take My Breath Away" over contemplative shots of Andy Lau wearing imitation Top Gun aviators. Very 80s indeed. Also stars Maggie Cheung and Jackie Cheung.—Tim Wong

» Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong | 1988