As Tears Go By

As Tears Go By (旺角卡門, 1988) is a Hong Kong crime drama you can watch online on iFILM — the feature debut of Wong Kar-wai, made before Chungking Express or In the Mood for Love, and already carrying the restless, neon-soaked rhythm that would define his career. Andy Lau and Maggie Cheung lead.

Wah is a low-level Mong Kok gangster who spends most of his energy keeping his reckless partner Fly from getting both of them killed. When his cousin Ngor (Cheung) arrives from out of town, something shifts. He starts to picture a life outside the streets. The problem is that Fly's chaos doesn't pause for anyone's plans, and loyalty in that world has a price tag with very few installments.

For a first feature, the assurance is striking — the mood, the framing, the sense that the city itself is indifferent to everyone in it. Stream As Tears Go By (1988) online on iFILM.