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DIFF @ IFS: Infernal Affairs II, Sat October 23
2004, 7:00

A prequel as good as its predecessor

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DIFF @ IFS: Infernal Affairs II shows at IFS on Sat October 23, 2004, 7:00

DIFF @ IFS: Infernal Affairs II
A prequel as good as its predecessor
Sat October 23
2004, 7:00

Once again Alan Mak and Andrew Lau have created a dizzyingly taut, darkly ambiguous thriller set in a cops-and-robbers underworld where everyone is either morally compromised, or dead, or both. While the trademarks of the first film are all present in 'Infernal Affairs 2', what the new film has to add is its status as a prequel, and the prevailing sense of doom that this status brings. 'Infernal Affairs 2' begins with the murder of a gangland kingpin and its aftermath, as criminals and police alike realign themselves in the ensuing struggle for control over Hong Kong's streets. The dead gangster's son Hau (Francis Ng), for all his softly spoken words and respectable appearance, turns out to be a ruthless successor to the triad empire, with a long-term plan to avenge his father and then shift the family into a more legitimate branch of political influence. Meanwhile young Ming (Edison Chen) is ordered to join the police as Sam's mole, and conversely Wong assigns Yan (Shawn Yue), a young police cadet who also happens to be Hau's half-brother, to infiltrate Hau's syndicate as an undercover operative. 'Infernal Affairs 2' sets itself explicitly in the period leading up to Hong Kong's 1997 shift from British to Chinese control. In consequence, as well as being an engrossing crime drama, 'Internal Affairs 2' also works undercover as a bold political allegory. Hollywood is already remaking Infernal Affairs (with Brad Pitt) - but I doubt that it could remake a sequel as complex and gripping as this. Source: Anton Bitel, Movie Gazette.

To see a trailer and read a review, visit InternationalFilmSeries.com.

Tickets

10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission. $7 w/UCB student ID, $7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.

Parking

Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.

RTD Bus

Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus

International Film Series

(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.

First Person Cinema

(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.

C.U. Film Program

(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil Grillo.

Celebrating Stan

Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.

C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.

Thank you, sponsors!
Boulder International Film Festival
Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Looking for a gift for a friend?
Buy a Frequent Patron Punch Card for $60 at any IFS show. With the punch card you can see ten films (a value of $90).

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