Greetings from Lithuania.Because "The Departed" (2006) is basically one of my favorite movies of 21st century, i kinda wanted to see one day "Infernal Affairs" (2002) - a movie based on which "The Departed" was made. Seen it only now for the first time i was kinda shocked - "The Departed" isn't just a movie based on this one - basically its a copy/paste movie. Sure directing was better and production values, even acting in a USA movie, but boy oh boy did i was surprised of great "Infernal Affairs" really is. As the one who saw "The Departed" like 4 or 5 times in my life, story wasn't anything new one, so to say. The ending was different, but i lived both endings.Overall, its impossible to speak about "Infernal Affairs" without mentioning its Hollywood's remake. Both movies are great in their own terms. Maybe in original movie they overplayed with some scenes which kinda looked a bit cheeze and not so "in your face" style like in Martin Scorsese movie, but overall you should definitely see "Infernal Affairs" even if you have seen it USA version. Its a great movie.

In the myriad categories of films that Hong Kong produces, Infernal Affairs stand heads and shoulders above the rest and is rightfully lauded as Hong Kong's best modern achievement.Simply put; everyone, from the cast and crew, brought their A game and this is a high quality thriller that really showcases Hong Kong's talent in it's film industry. Alan Mak and Felix Cheung crafted a beautiful of espionage, of a cat and mouse game between Hong Kong Police and Brother Sam's Triad. And this story is told brilliantly through the direction of Andrew Lau as well as Alan Mak himself. The pacing is wonderful, not taking too long for a plot to develop, and never overstaying it's welcome. Comparing this to the Departed, Scorsese tend to overwhelm the audience with too much exposition with the actors DiCaprio, Damon and Nicholson overacting the scene, making the tension, urgency and drama contrived and asphyxiating.In Infernal Affairs, Lau and Mak. The drama, urgency and tension is created through atmosphere; conveyed by the actors along with the cinematography, and sound. The best example of this is the identical scene between Sullivan and Costello in the Departed and Lau and Sam in Infernal Affairs. In the Departed, Sullivan (Damon) finally met again with Costello (Nicholson), they had 5 minute chat of what's going on to fill the audience with what's actually happening.But compare this to Infernal Affairs, when Inspector Lau (Andy Lau) finally met Brother Sam (Eric Tsang) again; there was no talking, they just had a look, there were flashbacks, and everybody watching knew what's going on and what's going to happen.That is clever story telling; to tell you a story without using words.So, kudos to Andrew Lau and Yiu Fai Lai for a great camera work, and the sound team for nailing the dramatic scenes.Despite all my praise, Infernal Affairs is not perfect. Yan's interest with Dr Lee is unnecessary and the music for the scenes were cringey a.f. Yan's relationship with May was also completely unnecessary here and out of place with the May's daughter being the "is she or isn't she" makes no sense within the context of the movie.But overall, this is the best Hong Kong film that came out in the 21st Century, and it is conclusively better than Scorsese's The Departed.

Andy Lau and Tony Leung are two giants in Asian cinema and they play opposites in this cop thriller which pits two moles against each other in a complex hierarchy of modern Hong Kong. They are extremely prolific actors because they are capable, which is disappointing because the direction doesn't always allow for them to emote and fully display the gravity of their situation. When Superintendent Wong's lifeless body hurtles down onto the streets, the score instantly turns sentimental and we are treated to black and white flashbacks of their previous scenes, of that connection to Chan's old life instantly severed. But we must be emotionally manipulated into feeling this. When Lau's girlfriend discusses her novel's main character's morality, the score again turns from the tense percussion of the earlier scenes to this soft sentimental piano piece. Her description of this character who is supposedly a good person but who does bad things is so painfully unsubtle that it takes away from this great script. There's an early scene that allows Lau and Leung to display their talent, one that is not in Scorsese's Departed. A simple occurrence of a man buying a stereo allows us to roughly gauge what sort of person Chan is, before revealing he in fact works for the mob. And that stereo of course returns with significantly more important implications. Many of the segments of the script were directly lifted for Departed, and that is an indication of their importance, and their effectiveness. The thematic narrative is just as effective in dreary and gritty Hong Kong as it is in the Irish Catholic underbelly of Boston. There's the drug deal that is monitored from both sides, the respective moles relaying information that is delicately balanced and edited. It's a tense scene which the score better services, a heavy percussion backing over this plucked riff that seems strangely Egyptian, but it works. The tragic climax is also pretty much the same; with the unveiling of the secondary rat in the police department and this execution from Lau to tie up all lose ends and maintain his cover. I am intrigued by one of Scorsese's additions in making the mob boss a corrupt informant himself. Eric Tsang plays the triad leader in Infernal Affairs, and is unfortunately miscast (as he is a primarily comedic actor), too short and too jovial to really be menacing, although the breaking of the cast was a great moment which also served as a red herring of sorts. When Lau executes his former boss here, it's the culmination of his continued undercover life and realising that perhaps this act will lead to a promotion and a more comfortable life henceforth. When Damon does so in Departed, it's because he discovers that the man he is working for is in turn crooked, and his entire life's work and philosophy collapses onto itself. Both work just as well, as do their respective fates, although Nicholson proves to be the difference. We feel saddened by the tragic end of Chan, and the various ways in which his identity breaks down bit by bit. There is a flashback again as he discovers that Lau is the mole, but this one is integral and provides us with even more tension. Infernal Affair's script is a great one, and an original one, even if it's direction and visualisation is not entirely subtle. I am reminded of some better scenes in the film which utilise secondary characters (that are not Lau's placeholder girlfriend) to reinforce those themes of identity, morality and agency (as well as those Buddhist sentiments of rejecting destiny and fate introduced in the beginning). Are we really who we are if we cease to act in that way? Chan runs into an ex girlfriend while going for a massage, an inexplicable encounter, but her face shows only hints of recognition. She comforts her young daughter and talks of her marriage, things that are infinitely out of reach for Chan. Later, he is the sole person who witnesses the other mole's death, Keung, in a dramatic scene where the actor's face is visibly melting with condensation and he speaks on edge. It might be cliché to have someone utter such a confession before they die, but it's emotionally moving, because of the effective performance of that monologue, the yearning for a normal life that is mirrored in Chan's expression. In that penultimate meeting in the office, we agonise over the simple press of a button that erases a man's entire life. We know that Chan's life is over, a fact that he never is confronted with. Perhaps it is better that way.These moments are frustrating because they point to what could have been a great film if not for those over-dramatic death scenes, blatantly unsubtle exposition and unnecessary black and white flashbacks that connect the dots for the viewer as if they were a child. At that policeman's funeral, a teary Sum-Yee whispers to no one but the audience that she will dream of Chan just as he dreamt of her in those therapy sessions where they fell in love. Is this really necessary? But in saying that, we feel the same way for this fallen policeman.

I cannot BELIEVE the amount of people who say "The Departed" is BETTER than the movie that inspired this sickening "remake" of the much superior "Infernal Affairs" !!!! "but...oh, it's been done by Hollywood, it won an Oscar, it has Jack Nicholson in it.." Blah Blah Blah, petty Bostonian has- beens, insipid cast, a bowel-movement of a movie. And yes, I have watched "The Departed" but not all the way through, I had to leave the cinema before the poor sap in front of me received my lunch. "Infernal Affairs" is everything Hollywood is not...pace, dialogue, action, actors, lighting, sound, ATMOSPHERE, SUSPENSE. It just proves, on a global scale, how arrogant and pathetic American movie studios have become. And oh how they love the collective stupidity of American movie-goers, and to a smaller extent, the rest of you.