Hong Kong is its own universe. Over here, we’re all busy talking about the Academy Awards. Buzzing about THE PIANIST, CHICAGO, TWO TOWERS, GANGS OF NEW YORK and THE HOURS. We take a look at the nominated foreign films, and for many, unfortunately, those are the Foreign films of note from 2002. From all the critics awards, People’s Choice Awards, UK awards, France awards… The films are familiar.

Then you get to the Hong Kong Film Awards which are due out in April, and you see a film called WU JIAN DAO (aka INFERNAL AFFAIRS) with 16 nominations and you just kinda wonder, “What the hell?”

Ok, most of us, if we know the title, we know it from the press release that said that Brad Pitt was attached to remake it. Which pretty much guarantees that we’ll never get a theatrical release of this film that has nominations for: Best Action Choreography, Best Actor (twice), Best Cinematography, Best Costumes/Make-up, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Screenplay, Best Song, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor (three times), Best Visual Effects and of course… Best Picture. A film with this sort of credit, and it will go unreleased in the United States.

The film is a story about an undercover career cop and an undercover career criminal… One playing cop for the world to see, the other playing criminal for the world. Both are their respected bosses number one coveted secret. Their edge in the constant chess game they play. Capture the other’s king. The situation becomes more intense when it is suddenly discovered that each Boss has an upper level mole in the other’s organization, but no clue as to who it is. It is then up to both undercover agents to try and discover each other’s identity, before the other can. The loser is dead, the winner continues their life… endlessly portraying an image that they have artificially created and subsequently have become.

This isn’t a flashy gun film. The movie isn’t about battles or action in any traditional sense. The film is instead about information, deception, currying favor and losing your sense of self. We’re talking about career undercover operatives, that are so beyond reproach that the people closest to them, family members, nobody knows, except themselves. At all times they are looking for information on the sly, while fulfilling their positions on another level. The result is enthralling.

The actors are awesome in this film. All performing at the best that I’ve seen them. I loved Andy Lau’s Tok in FULLTIME KILLER back two years ago, but here… Here he is completely different. Not the cooler than cool. Not the badder than bad. He is an outstanding police officer, a credit to the force, the sort of character that from all outward looks is a consummate professional. However, in addition, he’s ferreting out information for his boss, that keeps Eric Tsang’s Sam one step ahead. I micro step. Just that split-second notice that allows him to escape unscathed. Andy Lau has an incredibly expressive face here, which allows him to portray both layers perfectly. Watching him on cell phone conversations, how he will pretend that it is one type of conversation with a big smile, while his eyes remain completely focused and serious, meanwhile the tone of his voice being jocular.

On the other side is Tony Leung as Yan. Many of you are probably well aware of how great an actor Tony Leung is… be it working for Johnny To, Andrew Lau, Wong Kar Wai, Yimou Zhang and of course John Woo. It has become almost ludicrous to talk about how good he is, but here, yet again, he’s just excellent. Having never finished cadet school he was chosen for the world of undercover work. For 10 years, edging up next to this boss and that boss. Taking them down from the inside. He’s sick of the job. He’s never known what it was to be a real cop. He’s done so much criminal work to be inside, that he doubts that he is a cop. His one contact being with Superintendent Wong (played by the always wonderful Anthony Wong), who continually assures him that he is indeed a good guy. Leung plays this very Bogart-y. His eyes are always reading the room, knowing when to look, without looking like he’s looking.

Both “stars” are on the money here. Just as good as they come. You don’t want either to go down, and I felt myself rooting for both, hoping that either one would emerge victorious. The feeling of the walls closing in on them. How it all wraps up, the performances, the music, the tension and the character development… it really underlines something missing from the modern crime film in the United States. This easily is so much better than any of the COP investigation films in the U.S. in quite some time. Maybe it is just that I believe everything they ever show me about Triad gangs over there, or maybe it is just a very inventive crime film.

When you see them scanning all cel phone activity within a two block area to try and isolate the numbers that the bad guys are using, how the bad guys counter, how the information is flowing from one team to another… It is… frankly… genius. Just a fantastic film worthy of all the praise it is getting over in Hong Kong, and in all likelihood Brad Pitt and Team Pitt will do a dang good film from it, but there’s something otherworldly about it taking place in Hong Kong, that just makes it all seem fantastic and real.

Andrew Lau and his co-director Alan Mak have crafted an amazingly witty and smart film. Completely unlike most of Andrew Lau’s work, which relied so much on special effects, this relies on the actions and decisions of the characters to propel the story to its conclusion, which is very satisfying.

I just wish this was coming to theaters in some form of release. It’s a shame that the public won’t get to see a film shot this beautifully in an auditorium worthy of showing it. Hunt it down if you can, it is definitely worth a look!