Infernal Affairs (2002)

Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates a triad, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "The Unceasing Path", a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism, where one endures suffering incessantly. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term "internal affairs" with the adjective "infernal". Infernal Affairs was followed by Infernal Affairs II and Infernal Affairs III.

Pre-release publicity focused on its star-studded cast (Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng), but it later received critical acclaim for its original plot and its concise and swift storytelling style.

The film had been selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. Still, Miramax Films acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited U.S. theatrical release in 2004.

Infernal Affairs was remade by Martin Scorsese in 2006 as The Departed, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Synopsis

Infernal Affairs focuses on a police officer named Chan Wing-yan, who goes undercover into a triad, and a triad member Lau Kin-ming, who infiltrates the Hong Kong Police Force. Each mole has been planted by the rival organisation to gain an advantage in intelligence over the other side. The more the moles become involved in their undercover lives, the more issues they have to cope with.

Actors