Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
Wong Kar-wai's debut feature is a striking synthesis of Hong Kong triad drama and tender romance, already bearing his signature visual sensibility — lush, neon-soaked Kowloon imagery and fragmented time. Cinematographer Andrew Lau delivers expressive, kinetic visuals that prefigure the director's mature style. The film is remarkably distinctive as a debut, blending genre conventions with lyrical romanticism in a way that felt genuinely fresh for 1988 Hong Kong cinema. The acting is solid, with Andy Lau conveying quiet intensity and Jacky Cheung's volatile Fly stealing scenes, though neither performance transcends the material. The plot, borrowing openly from Mean Streets, is functional rather than groundbreaking. The ending, while appropriately tragic, arrives somewhat abruptly and feels more genre-obligatory than emotionally earned compared to Wong's later work.