Wu jian dao (2002)

Remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed (2006), this is a sophisticated Hong Kong thriller about an undercover cop and his opposite number in the criminal fraternity.
“An immensely stylish affair... One may discern shades of Michael Mann’s Heat, an ambitious template but one which this movie... lives up to quite handsomely.” Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 2004 This tale of two moles – a gangster (Andy Lau) posing as a cop, and a cop (Tony Leung) who has infiltrated the Triads – is a brisk, effective policier with moments of emotional complexity, such as the moving scene in which the cop who has sacrificed a decade of his life to undercover work gives a clandestine salute to the passing funeral procession of a colleague. When the film was released in Hong Kong in late 2002, its success gave an unexpected boost to the down-in-the-dumps film industry. Two further instalments followed in 2003 – a prequel (Infernal Affairs II) and a sequel (Infernal Affairs III) – before Martin Scorsese remade it as The Departed (2006), with Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Not to be confused with Internal Affairs (1990), Mike Figgis’s equally dark and stylish take on police corruption.
2002 Hong Kong
Directed by
Andrew Lau Wai-keung, Alan Mak Siu-fai
Produced by
Andrew Lau Wai-keung
Written by
Alan Mak Siu-fai, Felix Chong Man Keung
Featuring
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Andy Lau Tak-wah, Anthony Wong Chau-sang