What I “Tweet” about The Departed and Infernal Affairs: Dead or alive?

Theatrical poster of Infernal Affairs
(Source:  Media Asia Distribution)

Winning four Oscars at the 79^th Academy Awards, The Departed, adapted from Infernal Affairs, is one of the few adaptations of Hong Kong films that receive applause of the critical judges. Its title, which means “the person who has died” (OALD) and reminds us of the famous short story “The Dead” by James Joyce, opens up a discussion on life and death.

        The Chinese title of Infernal Affairs refers to the Buddhist concept of Avici: “the hell of incessant suffering, from which one may not escape until one’s retribution karma has been exhausted” (Chan, 2002). Both movies develop the plot around the pair of protagonists who struggle to find their way out of suffering.

        One major difference between the two films is that the triad mole in the police in Infernal Affairs, Lau Kin-ming, lives at the end, while Colin Sullivan in The Departed is killed. The last scene of Infernal Affairs reads: “佛曰：「受身無間者永遠不死，壽長乃無間地獄中之大劫。」 (‘He who is in Continuous Hell never dies. Longevity is a big hardship in Continuous Hell.’ said the Buddha)”, and suggests that Lau would live in the shadow of self-blame for the rest of his life, thus continue to suffer in the Avici - the reality. Meanwhile, when Colin tells his girlfriend Madolyn his dream of being dead, Madolyn blurts out some words of wisdom in reply, “Death is hard. Life is much easier.” In the script, there is also a detailed description of Colin’s psychological reaction when knowing he is going to be killed by Dignam, who intrudes into his house for vengeance, “accepting it, sort of, but only in a Colin way”. In this sense, Colin’s acceptance of the hardship of death implies a kind of retribution for his sins.

        In sum, Infernal Affairs presents the continual suffering of Avici; while The Departed focuses more on retribution. To some, life may mean suffering in Avici, while death may mean retribution and freedom.

Reference:

“departed, adj.” The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8^th ed. (2011). Oxford University Press. Retrieved April 16, 2012 from http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

Chan, Sheng-Yen. (2002). The Sword of Wisdom: A commentary on the song of Enlightenment. Dharma Drum Publications: United States of America, p. 159.

Monahan, W. (2006). The departed: Based on Infernal Affairs. Retrieved April 16, 2012 from http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Departed,-The.html