Kar-Wai's first film is often compared to Scorsese's Mean Streets, not only because of the similarities in the themes addressed, but also because of the impact they both had on the film industry. In As Tears Go By, Wah (Andy Lau), a young gangster, is torn between his romance with his cousin Ngor (Maggie Cheung) and his loyalty to his deranged partner in crime Fly (Jacky Cheung). When Fly borrows money he can't pay back, violence erupts, sparking an open war between Wah and his arch-rival Tony. Drawing on the action, gangster and heroic bloodshed genres of Hong Kong cinema, Kar-Wai filters his pop pleasures through the dreamy tones for which he would come to be known.