Mou Gaan Dou

Mou Gaan Dou (Infernal Affairs) is the original first part of a trilogy The Departed by Martin Scorsese is based on. Unfortunately, like probably a lot of people, I saw the original first part after seeing The Departed. 'Cause when seeing The Departed I was impressed and surprised by the quality of it. I truly enjoyed it and still do, but having seen one of the three films it's based on, it does make The Departed less cool and fresh as I now know it happens to have borrowed a lot of scenes straight from the original. It can be said that in the hands of Scorsese the material truly reached its full potential. Scorsese's film holds all the tension and complexity Mou Gaan Dou to me seemed to somewhat lack. But maybe that's a result of already knowing what the film is about and what is about to happen. I can therefore say that The Departed definitely has made the original far less enjoyable because it borrows so much from the original, which makes that you find yourself constantly comparing and trying to remember how in The Departed these scenes were brought to life and at what point of the film they were shown. A thing The Departed has left out is the created symbolism which can be found in Mou Gaan Dou which for example focuses a lot on handgestures through close-ups. Also the two actors playing the two main characters (Tony Leung and Andy Lau) are very different compared to the performances by Damon and Dicaprio in The Departed and the latter has set the entire film in a complete different location, namely Boston. Because The Departed is based on the entire trilogy it has a very solid structure including the material Mou Gaan Dou II and III contain, which delves deeper into the two main characters' pasts, making for much more character development. So to say whether Mou Gaan Dou is a good film is very difficult as The Departed is great and combines all the three parts into one, something that the original didn't do and therefore makes it very different. Mou Gaan Dou seems to be pretty good, though it's a shame I had not seen it before The Departed was released 'cause now I never had that experience of watching it for the first time as I had the feeling to have seen it all before. My true experience of it therefore is completely robbed by Scorsese's remake.

Verdict: A great chance you like it more and can appreciate it better when not having seen The Departed. Mou Gaan Dou is a good film, but most people might prefer watching The Departed as it features some well known actors, is helmed by an acclaimed director, and combines all the parts of the original trilogy into one thrill ride of a film.