As Tears Go By

Wah is a low-level triad member in Hong Kong who earns his living collecting debts, and his closest friend is Fly, a reckless and hot-tempered young gangster whose gambling and unpaid loans keep dragging the pair into trouble. When Wah's cousin Ngor arrives from Lantau Island to stay with him, he falls for her and begins to imagine a quieter life away from the gangs. That hope pulls against his loyalty to Fly, who is repeatedly beaten by the men of a rival boss named Tony, and Wah is left weighing a future with Ngor against standing by the friend he treats as a brother.

As Tears Go By, released in 1988, is Wong Kar-wai's first film as director, the opening entry in a career that by the facts given runs to eighteen features, followed by Days of Being Wild in 1990. Wong wrote the screenplay with Jeff Lau Chun-Wai, and Alan Tang produced. Andy Lau plays Wah, Maggie Cheung plays Ngor, and Jacky Cheung plays Fly, with Alex Man Chi-Leung as Tony and supporting turns from Wong Aau and Ronald Wong Ban.

The film carries a critics' rating of 6.3/10 from thirteen reviews, while audiences rate it 7/10 on IMDb from around 14,000 votes and 7/10 on TMDB from roughly 390 votes.