Screening: Infernal Affairs

Part of an Indiana University East Asian Studies Center film series.

Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, Hong Kong, 2002, 101 min.

In Cantonese with English subtitles. 

Yan (Tony Leung) is a cop who has been assigned to work undercover inside the Triads for so long that he has been able to rise through the ranks to a position of some authority. Ming (Andy Lau), meanwhile, is a secret member of the Triads who has infiltrated the police force with an equal level of success. They both begin to feel the stresses of their double lives and become torn between the oppressive obligations they owe to their superiors and the growing camaraderie they share with the foot soldiers around them. As the two organizations become increasingly aware of the moles in their midst, the race is on for Yan and Ming to try to get out of the game alive. This top-notch Hong Kong thriller was a huge box-office hit in 2002, and its fame led to an American remake by Martin Scorsese, The Departed (2006).