Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs - The Trilogy

3. Allegories of Hell: Moral Tales and National Shadows

Given the space in Hong Kong films mirrors the “uneven development” of the city itself, the mise-en-scène of Infernal Affairs includes spaces associated with the traditional (e.g., 10,000 Buddha Temple), the modern (e.g., colonial-era buildings), and the postmodern (e.g., the mélange of non-places within the urban fabric of Hong Kong). Likewise, Infernal Affairs presents a story that includes layers attached to traditional preoccupations with Buddhism, Confucianism, clan loyalties, and patriarchal prerogatives, to questions of colonialism/post-colonialism and the issue of “national” identity, and to postmodern preoccupations with the transnational, post-industrial economy, consumerism, and the information society. Infernal Affairs narrates different versions of these “stories.” Thus, the trilogy opens up to multiple allegorical readings that co-exist within the narrative — occasionally contradicting one another, supporting one another, or canceling each other out. ● 3 Allegories of Hell: Moral Tales and National Shadows ● 52 ANDREW LAU AND ALAN MAK’S INFERNAL AFFAIRS — THE TRILOGY Buddhism and Fate Infernal Affairs’ title in English and Chinese refers to the infernal, and the tribulations of Buddhist hell place the film within the realm of religious allegory. 1 Like Dante’s Inferno, the trilogy links the contemporary world with the punishments of hell to proffer a cautionary moral tale. Infernal Affairs I begins with reference to a Buddhist sutra: “The worst of the eight hells is continuous hell — it has the meaning of continuous suffering.” It ends with: “Says the Buddha: He who is in Continuous Hell never dies. Longevity is a big hardship in Continuous Hell.”Infernal Affairs IIends with the title: “Continuous hell embodies 3 components: Uninterrupted time. Unlimited space. Boundless suffering. Transgressors of the five deadly sins fall into this hell forever — condemned to the ultimate incessant suffering.” Infernal Affairs III ends with: “People of the like shall be cast into the Avici Hell and will continue to suffer from Kalpas to Kalpas with no means of escape.” The way that leads to “no where” (“wu jian”) in the trilogy’s Chinese title Wu Jian Dao (Cantonese:Mou Gaan Dou) does not refer to an empty space; rather, “no space” means a limitless space and a continuous time filled with suffering. “Kalpas” refer to the millennial cycles that the sinner must spend in hell. The cycle of suffering includes repeated deaths, resurrections, suffering, and more death. Thus, “longevity is a hardship,” because the soul cannot be released to continue its cycle of reincarnation in order to improve its karma. The soul remains stuck in time and space — unable to move on. The transgressions that lead to this hell include disregard for filial duties (particularly killing or harming one’s parents) and various types of sacrilege (desecration of Buddhist shrines, impersonating holy men, etc.) The characters in Infernal Affairs provide an apt illustration of this concept of hell. They become stuck in time and space — unable to move on and unable to stay put. Buddhist symbols appear repeatedly in the film, and characters refer to sayings about karma ● ALLEGORIES OF HELL: MORAL TALES AND NATIONAL SHADOWS 53 repeatedly (e.g., “what goes around comes around,” “men don’t change events, events change men,” “there is no present without the past,” etc.) The trilogy begins with the camera moving vertiginously around an image of Buddha, and the first scene takes place in Shatin’s famous Temple of 10,000 Buddhas in Hong Kong’s New Territories (Still 3.1). Sam bows to an image of Buddha before he instructs his recruits about his plans to infiltrate the Hong Kong police. He sees himself as a Caesar-like figure and his underlings as expendable in his quest for power. They drink as a sign of their obedience. In Buddhism, the root of all evil is desire, and Sam seems filled with ambition. Bringing his quest for power through subversion of the police to a temple seems absolutely antithetical to Buddhist doctrine, blasphemous, and reason enough to be cast into Avici hell. However, the vastness of “continuous time” and “unlimited space” proves large enough to contain contradictions. Sam states in Infernal Affairs III , “I am a real triad.” Although characters discuss their identities (e.g., “cops,” “good guys,” and “bad guys”) throughout the trilogy, only Sam owns up to being a “real triad.” Of course, this means that Sam traces his roots back to the burning of the Southern Shaolin Temple during the Qing...