The style is relaxed, flexible, never stiff, never a formulated strategy that could go ahead on automatic pilot, always dependent instead on an unerring eye for composition and an unerring sense of rhythm. Practically every shot proclaims the presence of a major cinematic stylist. Watching them pass by is a sensuous pleasure of the highest and rarest type. And a privilege, too. 105 minutes are too few.

Pretty much just a Mean Streets rip-off. Not as much as As Tears Go By, but you'd be blind not to see the similarities. Hou tries to up the energy level a bit with some fast-paced driving scenes and occasional loud music; sometimes it works, sometimes not. Most of the time, you're just waiting for something interesting to happen, usually quite a while. I liked the character of "Flatty" (the Robert De Niro stand-in), but I didn't care too much about Gao (the Harvey Keitel).