In this blog post, I’ll examine how ‘Infernal Affairs’ can be systematically interpreted as a “crime film” in terms of imagery, characters, and plot, based on Thomas Schatz’s genre theory.
Why Is It a Genre Film?
I recently watched a Japanese film titled ‘The Disgusting Life of Matsuko’. Thanks to the dazzling colors that dazzled my eyes throughout the film and a story that was both funny and moving, I thoroughly enjoyed the viewing experience. Afterward, when I looked up reviews from netizens and critics, I was somewhat puzzled to see “Comedy/Musical” listed under the genre category. While I found the “comedy” label understandable given how funny it was to watch, I was surprised to see the “musical” genre attached to a film that felt more like a musical.
When I looked up the “musical film” genre, I found that it’s defined as a film in which music serves as a key means of expression due to the advent of sound, and where song and dance take center stage. It’s said to have established itself as a distinct genre during Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1930s. I was surprised all over again to learn that some of the films I’d seen—such as ‘Dreamgirls’ and ‘Perhaps Love’—also fall under the musical genre.
So what exactly is a “genre,” and why do we try to categorize films by genre? The answer to this question can be found in the book ‘The Structure of Hollywood Genres’ by American film scholar Thomas Schatz. Simply put, a genre is a type of film that shares a similar narrative structure. Schatz argues that analyzing formal, aesthetic, and cultural conventions through a genre-based approach makes it easier to understand films. It’s the same principle as how understanding a subject becomes easier when you know the characteristics that define it.
‘Infernal Affairs’ as a “Crime Film”
I have several favorite film genres. These include “comedy,” which has become a representative genre in Korea; “thrillers,” which keep you on the edge of your seat; and “film noir,” with its alluring masculinity. However, “film noir” was not included in Schatz’s list of individual film genres. Shatz’s criteria are based on classification by narrative strategy, characters, and plot; since “noir” is a concept defined by style and thematic consciousness, it was treated as a trend spanning multiple genres rather than a distinct genre in its own right. I originally intended to view ‘Infernal Affairs’ as a noir film, but in reality, it is more accurately described as a “crime film” with a noir-like style.
First, let’s briefly summarize the characteristics of the crime film genre. These characteristics are evident in the setting, central characters, and conflicts. The setting is typically a modern city; whereas Westerns depict the struggle to establish social order, crime films center on a complex, alienated, and overwhelming urban community. This community is portrayed as a force that creates criminals and ultimately leads them to ruin.
The urban environment serves two functions. First, the city functions as a surreal or dark realm of violence, becoming a space where the criminal’s sensibilities are amplified; second, it embodies the force of social destiny that is difficult for the criminal to overcome. It is a structure in which the intangible forces of modern civilization and social order bring about the downfall of a single rebel.
The criminal in crime films is generally portrayed as the embodiment of an ambitious, self-serving, and deviant man. However, the urban environment—marked by alienation and class discrimination—prevents the criminal from legally accessing power and success, forcing them to resort to inhumane means and violence to acquire wealth. The problem is that the city’s organized power is far more formidable than that of any individual criminal.
The ultimate conflict lies not between the criminal and the environment, but in the criminal’s own contradictory impulses. The core lies in the internal conflict between personal success and the common good, and between barbarism and rational ethics; these efforts are destined to fail due to the forces seeking to maintain the stability of the urban environment.
For me, Hong Kong noir films were a source of vicarious satisfaction during my childhood. The dazzling visuals, gunfire, and macho protagonists were hugely appealing. From the late 1980s through the early 1990s, Hong Kong noir films enjoyed worldwide popularity but soon entered a slump. Amid this, the 2002 film ‘Infernal Affairs’, directed by Mak Cho-fai and Yu Wei-kang and starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau, evoked both shock and nostalgia for many. Although the term “Hong Kong noir” has become established, from a genre perspective, ‘Infernal Affairs’ belongs to the crime film genre.
Based on Thomas Schatz’s genre grammar (iconography, characters, setting, and plot), I will examine how ‘Infernal Affairs’ resembles crime films. Let’s start with iconography (visual icons). Iconography is formed through repetitive narratives and visual symbolization processes and serves a symbolic function, much like the white hat in Westerns or the top hat in musicals.
Symbolic elements of the crime genre include weapons such as guns and knives, as well as black suits. Criminals use such weapons to confront the urban environment, and black suits reflect the characters’ dark inner worlds and the darkness of the society in which they operate. In ‘Infernal Affairs’ as well, weapons such as guns and knives, along with dark attire, appear frequently, which serves as the basis for classifying this work as a crime film.
Next is the aspect of characters and setting. The film’s conflict arises from the process by which specific social and historical elements are transformed into events and characters. Each character defines the community and triggers cultural conflict, and their actions and attitudes, combined with the setting, create a space for conflict. Genres tend to resolve such conflicts through narratives in which they are condensed into stereotypical behaviors and familiar character types.
This approach allows us to distinguish between “urban crime” archetypes that appear similar on the surface, such as the crime genre and the detective genre. While both genres are set in contemporary cities and deal with the conflict between social order and chaos, as well as between personal ethics and the common good, the detective serves as a mediator between order and chaos, whereas the crime genre positions itself within criminal forces and disorder. Consequently, the conflict that the protagonist of the crime genre faces with society often leads to a tragic ending—namely, death.
Conflict and Identity
In short, ‘Infernal Affairs’ is the story of a criminal who has infiltrated the police force and a police officer who has joined a criminal organization. The conflict within the film is starkly revealed through these two characters. The characters played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau, who lead double lives as a police officer and a criminal, respectively, are situated in a state of social disorder and chaos where they cannot openly acknowledge their true selves. This backdrop causes both protagonists to struggle with internal conflicts, including their sense of self-identity.
They challenge society in an attempt to resolve this conflict, but ultimately, it can only be resolved through death.
The Role of Plot and Genre
Simply put, the plot is the story of a film; however, what matters in genre films is not a mere sequence of events but the process by which conflict arises and is resolved—that is, the “plot of the process.” The core of every genre film narrative is resolution—the effort to resolve conflicts that disrupt the order of the community—and the genre continuously imparts meaning through the repeated raising of these issues.
Therefore, the conflict and resolution within a genre embody a system of opposing values and attitudes, and these opposing forces are perceived as deeply meaningful by the audience.
The Typical Structure of Crime Films and ‘Infernal Affairs’
As mentioned earlier, the crime film genre generally follows a similar plot structure. Criminals who are openly glorified as heroes appear, and they are portrayed as modern, corrupt men driven solely by self-interest. Against a backdrop of alienation and class discrimination, they develop desires such as social mobility and attempt to seize wealth to achieve these goals.
However, these attempts crumble miserably in the face of society as a massive organizational entity. Society, as a vast organizational entity, possesses an inherent ability to restore balance, so the criminals’ efforts to readjust that balance are often doomed to failure.
The two protagonists in ‘Infernal Affairs’ also belong to massive groups: the police and a criminal organization. Ultimately, they lead difficult and grueling double lives for the sake of their groups’ interests, and this lifestyle causes many internal conflicts—including those regarding their identities—which wear them down. Consequently, the two protagonists strive relentlessly to find their true identities, but these efforts are thwarted by society, and their conflicts are ultimately resolved—albeit temporarily—through death.
A Comparison of Hong Kong Noir and Hollywood
Social changes have influenced cinema, giving rise to various variations of classic genres such as crime films. Genres create subgenres to cater to audience tastes that demand new content while still offering familiarity. Robert Warshaw said, “We don’t want to watch the same movie over and over again. We just want the same form.” This means that while the public wants a familiar form, they also expect novelty in terms of content.
“Hong Kong Noir,” which took the world by storm in the 1980s and 1990s, emerged as a subgenre of crime films and possessed several characteristics that distinguished it from Hollywood-centric crime films, thereby meeting the diverse demands of audiences.
The film ‘The Departed’, which won four awards—including Best Director and Best Film Editing—at the 2007 Academy Awards, is widely recognized as a Hollywood remake of ‘Infernal Affairs’. It attracted significant attention thanks to the involvement of director Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. Considering the Academy’s tendency to favor Hollywood films and Scorsese’s reputation as a veteran crime film director, ‘The Departed’ can rightfully be called a quintessential Hollywood crime film.
The biggest difference between the two films lies in how they tell their stories. ‘The Departed’ depicts a hellishly corrupt world and the two protagonists who have been worn down by it as realistically as possible. The dialogue is rife with profanity, and the screen reflects a diabolical reality where anyone must be eliminated in order to survive.
In contrast, ‘Infernal Affairs’ unfolds its story in a romanticized manner, centering on the identity crisis—that is, the internal conflict—experienced by the two protagonists as they lead their respective lives as spies. This difference can be easily understood by comparing the characters in the two films. While the characters are generally similar, their personalities shape the distinct thematic messages conveyed by each work.
For example, in ‘Infernal Affairs’, Yu Jianming—a spy infiltrating the police force—is a character who struggles with an identity crisis over what is right and wrong, earning both the audience’s empathy and sympathy. Driven by his resolve to “be a good person,” he pulls the trigger without hesitation on Han Chin, the boss of his own organization.
In contrast, Sullivan in ‘The Departed’ is portrayed as a stereotypical villain, consumed by an inferiority complex stemming from his Irish heritage and a twisted desire for advancement. Sullivan kills his boss, Costello, because he discovers that Costello was a police informant who had ratted out his colleagues; the fact that he keeps asking, “Did you rat me out?” right up until the very end evokes the ugly reality of people who do not hesitate to betray and conspire for their own self-preservation.
In summary, ‘The Departed’ realistically depicts a diabolical world and the diabolical people within it, while ‘Infernal Affairs’ romantically interprets the hellish internal conflicts of two individuals living in a chaotic world. These differences demonstrate qualities that distinguish them from classical genre conventions and have contributed to the development of the film industry by satisfying the audience’s demand for diversity.
In Conclusion
The reason for classifying films by genre—and its significance—lies in the fact that it provides audiences with a sense of familiarity when selecting a film and offers a broad framework for understanding it, thereby facilitating comprehension.
Leo Brody stated, “Genre films inevitably ask the audience, ‘Do you believe this?’ Popularity is the audience’s affirmative answer. A shift in genre occurs when audiences say, ‘The format is too simplistic to believe; show us something more complex.’” This remark offers profound insight into how genres attempt to foster a dialogue between filmmakers and audiences, prompting viewers to reaffirm or reexamine their belief in the narrative.
Subgenres such as Hong Kong noir, epitomized by ‘Infernal Affairs’, can also be viewed as part of the evolution of genre films. As the conventions of the established crime genre became more sophisticated and complex, various subgenres emerged, satisfying audience demands in a rapidly changing society and realizing greater diversity in cinematic content.
Although Korean cinema has developed significantly, ushering in an era of 10 million moviegoers, this surge in audience numbers owes more to industrial marketing than to the artistic merit of the films themselves. I believe the solution to the recently raised “crisis in Korean cinema” may lie in the evolution of genre films. Just as our ancestors said, “Learn from the past to innovate for the future,” if we remain faithful to the conventions of classic genres while devoting our efforts to developing more sophisticated subgenres, we can satisfy both the industrial aspect—meeting audience demand—and the artistic aspect—through the internal development of cinema.
I watch movies every day, hoping to soon experience in our own films the same emotional impact I felt five years ago while watching ‘Infernal Affairs’.
