A Better Tomorrow (1986)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

A Better Tomorrow (1986) – J. Woo

I discovered John Woo back in the early 1990s as Hong Kong Cinema broke into the US arthouse/cult theatres (with Jacky Chan leading the way).  Woo’s films were all about slow-motion bullets flying between stoic guys on either side of the law who nevertheless identified with each other and felt deep loyal (even sentimental) emotions for their friends/family and sometimes foes (all men – women are sidelined here). Although his work would come to fruition with The Killer and Hard-Boiled, A Better Tomorrow was his first big hit (produced by Tsui Hark who has a funny cameo here).  Set in the world of the HK Triads, the film stars Ti Lung as a key deputy in a counterfeiting ring with a younger brother (Leslie Cheung) who is a cop on the rise and a best friend (Chow Yun-Fat) who is the gang’s top gunman.  When Ti finally gets caught and thrown in a Taiwan prison, he decides to go straight to honor his father’s wishes and to make good with his brother.  Of course, the gang won’t let him and his ties to Chow (who has fallen in stature within the gang but wants to stay in – or to compete) make this harder.  Woo controls the tempo expertly, mixing huge close-ups that heighten the emotional intensity with bloody shoot-outs set to pulsing music – and we feel the impact of the things that happen to these guys.  The 80s clothes and cinematography (complete with Woo’s eye for color and composition) and occasional cheesy music somehow enhance the tension between sentimentality and violence.  But it is the characterizations by Ti and Chow (and to a lesser extent Cheung), stoic yet sentimental, that really draw you in – with Woo’s expert guidance.