I don't remember the last time I shed tears watching a HK movie, but "Comrades" did it.

Like every HK movie I have ever watched, "Comrades" starts off like a math lecture and its objective - to put viewers to sleep. As usual, once the characters develop, it gets more interesting. I cared about most of the characters presented, thanks to the excellent development.

As far as Leon Lai's acting, I thought it was mediocre. I never liked him, but I prefer his acting in "God of Gamblers 3" to that of "Comrades." HK dramas are still a few notches below the accomplishments of Mainland directors like Zhang Yi Mou, who at least won't use pop idols to play scared immigrants. Also, HK films never achieve the incredible sense of realism as Mainland movies. Alas, Maggie Cheung is wonderful as usual.

There's nothing particularly melodramatic here, but when they played Teresa's "Moon" song towards the end, all the bits of tearjerkers came together and did it for me. The ending is both satisfactory and clever.

In short, "Comrades" is a critic's favorite 'art' film that doesn't break any new grounds but is well made.

[8/10]