>A fierce, new energy has been brought to the rich genre of the Hong-Kong gangster movie by the Young and Dangerous series. Shot largely on the streets of Hong Kong – and in this case with a special side trip to the tough Chinatown of Amsterdam for a particularly spectacular killing – the Young and Dangerous films feature Triad gangs who are just that: getting younger and wilder all the time, their battles raging through the mean streets, tenements and playgrounds of the city.Director Andrew Lau gets more breathlessly and brilliantly stylish by the episode, his use of Falling-Angels star Karen Mok to play a gang member’s old girlfriend who has lost her memory confirming a creative affinity with Wong Kar-Wai. Rivalries between ever younger gangs are at the centre of the film creatinga very real sense of terror in a city out of control and on the edge of an abyss. In the older gang, featuring familiar Hongoong stars Michael Tse and the inventive and ubiquitous Jordan Chan, there is a lingering sentiment for the olden days, camaraderie and memories of growing up; the younger punks about to oust them are teenagers without sentiment and ruthlessly violent in a world without pity.This Triad youth-movie series is the most exciting and rapidly evolving phenomena of contemporary Hong Kong genre cinema. Universal agreement is that this is the stand-out part so far. Hold your breath. Simon Field
