FACETS CINÉMATHÈQUE
August 2008
The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.
CHICAGO THEATRICAL
REVIVAL!
NEW 35MM PRINT!
AS TEARS GO BY
(WONG GOK KA MOON)
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WINNER
Best Art Direction Best Supporting Actor plus 8 Nominations Hong Kong Film Awards |
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"Ostensibly a conventional tale of triad loyalty,
As Tears Go By announced the presence of a genuine Hong Kong new wave—as well as an ambitious cineaste"
-Village Voice

"Shows a master in the making...(Kar-Wai) takes a generic mob story and imbues it with the visual and aural flourishes that made him famous"
-New York Post
"Wong's baby steps are still strong enough to make you sit up and take notice; the minute you see that opening shot of neon-blue TV monitors, you sense that a major player has stepped into the fold"
-TimeOut Chicago
Recommended! "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"
-Chicago Reader
Though as gritty as any 80's Hong Kong gangster picture,
As Tears Go By is a watershed film heralding one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in international cinema. Already stretched to breaking in a loyalty tug of war between Triad bosses and his loose cannon partner, Wah (Andy Lau,
Days of Being Wild), a rising star in the HK underworld, finds himself saddled with beautiful, ailing country cousin Ngor. As an escalating test of wills with a stubborn debtor explodes into bloodshed and a mob turncoat instigates a ruthless police crackdown, Wah's growing fascination with Ngor becomes his last chance for escape from a violent past and a dubious future. Maggie Cheung (
In the Mood for Love) cites Ngor, her first of many collaborations with Wong Kar-Wai, as the character that truly began her dramatic career. Balancing epiphanous imagery with experimentation and realism with brazen romanticism, Wong Kar-Wai's
As Tears Go By offers a tantalizing glimpse into the nascent brilliance of one of the most influential filmmaking talents of the last twenty years.
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 1988, 35mm, 102 mins. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
Senses of Cinema: Kar-Wai
YouTube clip
Village Voice
TimeOut Chicago
Chicago Reader
Showtimes:
Fri., Aug. 1 at 7 & 9 pm
Sat.-Sun., Aug. 2-3 at 3, 5, 7 & 9 pm
Mon.-Thurs., Aug. 4-7 at 7 & 9 pm
Tickets: