As Tears Go By (1988)
Kino International | Release Date: April 19, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
Right out of the gate—and even working within the modern Hong Kong gangster genre—Wong Kar-wai burst onto the screen as a strikingly unique talent. This is clearly a filmmaker less interested in plot and dialogue than he is in movement, music, and color—no matter the time, place, or story. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Some of the editing has a giddy, overeager quality, the natural excess of a young prodigy, but when the action and the tempo align, the results are exhilarating: an early brawl in a pool hall fairly leaps off the screen. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Ostensibly a conventional tale of triad loyalty, As Tears Go By announced the presence of a genuine Hong Kong new wave—as well as an ambitious cineaste. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This sounds like a fairly standard debut. But Wong smothers the story with tremendous style. Some directors give you a healthy ratio of mashed potatoes to gravy. Wong seems not at all to care for the potatoes. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
As Tears Go By doesn’t measure up to Wong’s later classics, such as In the Mood for Love (2000) and Chungking Express (1994), but it shows a master in the making. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesStaff (Not Credited)
Violent, sentimental and profane, "Tears" crosses cool, hi-tech photography with a savage realism. [08 May 1990, p.3]
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A very flashy Hong Kong variation on Mean Streets. [19 Dec 1996, p.7]
70
The TelegraphTim Robey
Plays entertainingly like an Asian version of a Michael Mann film, albeit with the plot of Mean Streets. It's not quite essential, but the deeply felt ending looks like a jumping-off point for all that Wong has made since. [22 Jan 2005]
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
If it fails, ultimately, it's because the relationship between the rational gangster Lau and the impetuous Jacky Cheung never really rings true. A cut above the usual HK action melodrama all the same. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalDavid Mermelstein
Quick cuts, jangly ’80 synth music and an impressive pool-hall tracking shot distinguish the picture, but the familiar tropes of Hong Kong cinema, including predictable fight sequences and a moralizing conclusion, subtract from its appeal. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleJoey O'Bryan
As Tears Go By has some interesting ideas and is an adequate first film, but, ultimately, is only slightly more interesting than any number of similar pictures made in the wake of John Woo's seminal 1986 trendsetter A Better Tomorrow. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNathan Lee
Easily summarized, the plot is entirely secondhand. Read full review
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