In his "Tears, Time, and Love: The Films of Wong Kar-wai," Peter Brunette mentioned that "the central critical debate around As Tears Go By concerns its relation to the dominant tradition of Hong Kong genre films. Is it primarily another example of a generic gangster film, in the tradition made famous by John Woo and others? Or is it an altogether new beast, an art film from Hong Kong that bears the unmistakable imprint of an auteur interested in moving beyond genre?" (3)
David Bordwell was brought up to represent the generic camp while Chuck Stephens represents the antigeneric group. Read through their arguments for each of their standpoints and consider how you'd categorize WKW's As Tears Go By. To support your argument, provide examples from the film in terms of narrative, any type of filmmaking techniques, etc. It might help you sort out the examples you need by comparing As Tears Go By with some other gangster films you've seen before.
p.s. As Tears Go By is available on netflix. Our library also has a VHS copy of it.
The first thing I noted to myself while watching "As Tears Go By" was how easily digestible it was. Usually this would indicate that it follows some sort of recognizable genre that would appeal to a mass audience. However, I have certainly seen my fill of foreign films and can say that there are elements that set the movie apart from typical gangster films. Scenes that seem to disorient and break the 180 rule that are thrown into the mix made me start to think that it wasn't a cookie-cutter movie.
ReplyDeleteOne gangster film that I would compare this movie to is "Ichi The Killer". This Japanese film seems to take heavily from the genre, but adds it's own quirky horror along side it. Similarly, "As Tears Go By" seems to add other elements that set it apart from different gangster films. The way I see it, the film is a sandwich of a romance film in between two gangster films, as they follow their own story arks and turning points. Honestly there were parts where the movie could have ended early and it still would have been a legitimate film. It's this unique structure (along with the heavily stylized and thought-out visuals) that made this film in a class of its own.
Is it explicitly an art film? No, it's a comfortable movie that anyone familiar with the genre can enjoy. Is it a commercial cop-out? No, WKW really took some risks infusing some unique ideas into his first shot at feature length.
Perhaps this is his "weakest" example when dealing with raw auteurism, but it's a great introduction to the evolution of his style. I can't wait to see more.
-Nowak_A
This is kind of a tough question. I don't see the film as a generic gangster movie, given the amount of the narrative that is dedicated to the love story between Wah and Ngor. Additionally, Wah's only connection to gangster life in the film comes from purely through his relationship with Fly. In a way that relates to Wong Kar-Wai's style of storytelling through relationships rather than a clear plot. The "imprint of an auteur interested in moving beyond genre" is minimal beyond that. It lacks the fragmented storytelling and visual styling in the rest of his work.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to categorize As Tears Go By I would call it a Romance film with some Gangster mixed in. The obvious nods to the Gangster genre are the intense action sequences in which Wah is defending Fly's honor. These particular scenes were very unique within the film as a whole and by employing the technique of Stop-Printing they particularly stood out. Though I believe that these "Gangster" scenes were secondary to the love story between Wah and Ngor. Slex pointed out above that this film is slightly mainstreem although Wong Kar Wai certainly imprints the beginnings of stylistic development onto this film.
ReplyDeleteI personally haven't seen a lot of gangster films or foreign films, so it is hard for me to categorize As Tears Go By. Just watching the first part of the W.K.W. interview in the next post, however, W.K.W. tels us himself that this movie was originally supposed to be a gangster film, that it was green-lighted because gangster movies were popular at the time. W.K.W. says that after making the first part, the producers were no happy, almost making it sound as if the film just needed more violence. This being said, I believe that As Tears Go By is a gangster film to a certain extent, but that W.K.W.'s own uniqueness makes the movie seem harder to categorize. Also, when I think of a genre pieces, I think of predictability and recycled plots, but As Tears Go By, at least to me, appears to have very little of either. All three of the main characters (including Fly) were extremely multi-dimensional, and this made it much more enjoyable to watch than just a bunch of guys beating each other up would have been. I was blown away by this movie, and can't wait to see what else W.K.W. has for us.
ReplyDeleteI viewed the film as drawing its generic elements from the "gangster melodrama" described by the critic Ungerbock, quoted in the article by Brunette. Wong Kar-Wai's film was far too sentimental to be clearly categorized as a typical macho gangster movie, and too visually unique to remain firmly rooted in a genre at all. The character driven nature of the film speaks greatly to this defying of genre, as most gangster films I have seen appear to be much more centered around the plot and develop the people populating the space of the film to a lesser degree. While this film seemed to have a more structured narrative than the shorts of his we viewed last week, it clearly hinted at the director's rejection of plot a the central element that can be seen as his style matures.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to "As Tears Go By" from when Wah's cousin arrives is that it is a romance film. The dramatic, typical 80's music is mostly what led me to that conclusion. However, that fact the she's his cousin and that she is sick, it shows that the romance will probably end up failing in the end. By setting the romance up for disaster, it makes this less of a romance film and more of the complications his gangster lifestyle creates. From the start of the two being together, he is called off to help his brother, Fly. This happens multiple times through the film which shows just how much Wah values his brother.
ReplyDeleteThe first encounter with an opposing gangster shows just how easily Wah can take care of opposition. This sets up the rest of the film like a traditional gangster movie might but it is also one of the last times they will walk away from a confrontation so easily.
The last half of the film focuses primarily on Wah's journey to find Ngor and help his brother. He is constantly faced with the decision to go back to Hong Kong to help his brother. Eventually, Ngor becomes less and less okay with the situation and fears for his health after he comes back beaten and bruised one time. I think this shows that the film itself is fighting between the two genres. With Ngor, it is a primarily romance film, but as he helps Fly, it is a gangster film. Since there is such a distinction between the two sides and Wah's priorities I believe this to be a fairly untraditional gangster film. However, if I had to classify it as either a gangster or a romance film, I would land on the former. Since Wah makes the final decision to go with his brother and leave Ngor behind, it shows that Wah was more concerned with Fly and his troubles with the other gangsters.
-cameron
As Tears Go By taps in to both the gangster and romance genre’s, unfortunately I have not seen many other Hong Kong gangster films of the time, so I cannot honestly say if it fits in to that stereotype. Like everyone else, I am very familiar with the Americanized gangster flick, and like most of the others have mentioned, the romantic aspect of the film is definitely highlighted, which takes the film out of the typical narrative structure of a gangster film. The fact that it was between two cousins I found to be a little odd, but to each his or her own.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found interesting, and at times humorous, was the approach taken to acquire revenge in the film. Fly gets himself in to a pickle due to his desperate need for recognition within the mob world, and Wah bravely yet arrogantly barges in to save the day, leaving him self battered by the end as well. I just feel that Wah could have maybe put some more though in to his approach. This poorly though out violence I felt separated it from other gangster films as well.
-Matthew Johns
As Tears Go By is very mild compared to other gangster films, especially films like Scarface and The Departed. The usual narrative elements of heavy drug use, guns and gunfights, police vs druglords aren't hit on nearly as much as in the western gangster films. It's almost like chick flick hidden inside a gangster film. In comparison to the John Woo film we watched, that type of romanticized gangster film is what I am used to.
ReplyDeleteFor me, As Tears Go By could be considered a gangster film. It can also be considered a romance film. But I feel as though it can't really be defined. The main focus of the film is clouded by all the different action and story lines going on. I was a little confused in the beginning, especially on who was who, but after their specific personalities were defined it was much easier to follow. Fly and Wah's story line follows a gangster film, although it still might not be as credible as The Departed, it still can be grouped as such because it's foreign. Gangsters in America aren't what all gangsters are like around the world, each country has their own way of doing things. The fact WKW added the romantic story line was to put more conflict in the film, I think. It was more interesting to watch with more than just punching a guy to the ground in every scene.
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