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As Tears Go By

Play trailer Poster for As Tears Go By 2008 1h 42m Crime Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Love for a distant relative causes a Chinese gangster (Andy Lau) to consider leaving the triad.
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As Tears Go By

Critics Reviews

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 01/30/2014
Some of the editing has a giddy, overeager quality, the natural excess of a young prodigy, but when the action and the tempo align, the results are exhilarating: an early brawl in a pool hall fairly leaps off the screen. Go to Full Review
Wesley Morris Boston Globe 08/22/2008
3/4
This sounds like a fairly standard debut. But Wong smothers the story with tremendous style. Go to Full Review
V.A. Musetto New York Post 05/02/2008
3/4
As Tears Go By doesn't measure up to Wong's later classics, such as In the Mood for Love (2000) and Chungking Express (1994), but it shows a master in the making. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 03/27/2021
2.5/4
A so-so variation of Mean Streets. Go to Full Review
Michael Frank The Spool 03/19/2021
Stylish as ever, Wong's melodramatic crime story serves as a singular debut. Go to Full Review
David Phelps MUBI 12/01/2017
...so reckless that once it starts it never stops to breathe. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Leprechaun K @LeprechaunKing Feb 27 WKW's debut film and was well received in the box office. A good HK triad themed movie that contains hints of what would become WKW's subsequent signature directing style. See more S. C 12/09/2023 Fantastic directional debut. Thrilling, emotional and even funny, it has amazing cinematography, complimenting ambient music, creative editing and a compelling cast. I especially found Jacky Cheung's performance to be in the spotlight. The fight choreography and make up is surprisingly authentic for it's time and also the sound design doesn't sound too bad, even passionately detailed at times. There's lots of great use of color and also light and shadows that brings the atmosphere and mood to life. Although the romance isn't as developed as the rest of the plot and the volume and timing of the music is often off it's still quite something artistic and shows promising talent. See more Kevin L 10/15/2023 It's easy to see this was made at the kick off of his directorial career, as Wong's "As Tears Go By" is a swirl of film school-level direction, with limited budget and production design. The performances are spotty, with Maggie Cheung standing out as Ah Ngor. This reminded me some of "Mean Streets", w/ the Jacky Cheung being a Tommy Boy screw up type and Andy Lau's Lah watching over and having to salvage what is worth saving of him. 2.8 stars See more Cem Y 08/21/2023 You could feel that this is a very early Wong Kar Wai movie if you do not know that this was actually his debut. However, still he is doing such a good work in transferring the emotion to the viewer. Uncooked but promising... See more Luca D @JoeCamel7 08/01/2023 As the name suggests it is in fact a sad movie. Like most of his films it starts with a fair amount of emotional tension and by the end you feel as if your overdosing on emotional tension. The romance in this particular movie wasn't as developed as the crime side, but it still was very potent in connecting to the main plot. I would say his movies aren't for the faint hearted as they mostly are as tragic as they are beautiful. I would definitely watch again and would recommend. See more DanTheMan 2 05/25/2023 The directorial debut of Wong Kar-wai, As Tears Go By showcases so much of his style that would go on to define his career in this Mean Streets meets Hong Kong action romance. While the performances from Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Jacky Cheung are great, Kar-wai's gorgeous direction is complemented by his use of colour and a musical score to die for, it's with this movie's substandard writing and confused narrative where it stumbles. Although I can't lie, when Sandy Lam's cover of Take My Breath Away started playing, I got goosebumps. See more Read all reviews
As Tears Go By

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Movie Info

Synopsis Love for a distant relative causes a Chinese gangster (Andy Lau) to consider leaving the triad.
Director
Kar-Wai Wong
Producer
Alan Tang
Screenwriter
Kar-Wai Wong
Genre
Crime, Drama, Romance
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
May 2, 2008, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.4K
Runtime
1h 42m
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