9. Juni: Infernal Affairs (OmeU)

Infernal Affairs

HK (2002)


ab 12
Regie: Andrew Lau, alan Mak
Schauspieler: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen
97 Minuten
Two men. Two sides. Neither knows who the other really is.

Hong Kong, the battle between the police and the Triads has always been fought in the shadows — but never quite like this. A young police cadet is secretly selected for a long-term undercover assignment inside one of the city's most powerful criminal organizations. At the same time, the Triad boss plants one of his own men inside the police force, setting him on a quiet path toward rank and respectability. Years pass. Both men rise. Both carry a secret that would destroy them if it came to light.

When each side begins to suspect it has been infiltrated, the two moles are tasked with hunting each other down — without knowing who they are looking for. What follows is a relentless game of cat and mouse played out in rooftop meetings, coded signals, and near-misses, as both men grapple not only with discovery but with questions of identity that have no easy answers. After a decade of living someone else's life, the line between who you are and who you pretend to be has a way of blurring beyond recognition.

Smart and engrossing — the pace and plot are dizzying, but the film also works as a study of fractured identity: the two have led double lives so long they're no longer sure who they are. (Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus)