Love Unto Wastes is the second film directed by Stanley KWAN, one of the new wave directors of Hong Kong in the 1980’s. It was introduced to Korea as a video movie in the 1990’s. Love Unto Waste was once called a neglected masterpiece, which is not an exaggeration. Not only in Korea but also in Hong Kong, a number of movie critics acclaimed this film as fantastic. When this film was screened at the Hong Kong Special Film Exhibition in the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), people wondered why this film was not appropriately treated at the time of its release.

What was more surprising is that the emotion of this film which fascinated only a handful number of people at the time of release is still effective today even after 20 years have passed. There are young guys who helplessly live without a goal. After a woman dies, a detective with an incurable disease investigates this case and talks to this young guys. The young guys who are brought together by the sudden death of a woman are engaged in a new relationship. A guy with a girl friend has sex with another woman to console her. The husband of the dead woman tries to find a new woman to relieve his grief. Under the damp air of Hong Kong, they talk about their meaningless lives while sipping beers. Since the true key characters of the film are unsatisfying but irresistible landscape of the city and the guys who rely on alcohols and instant consolations, how the woman died is not important. The subtle atmosphere made by director KWAN together with actors like CHOW Yun Fat and Tony LEUNG sets the tone of the movie from the beginning to the end. In Love Unto Wastes, KWAN was talking about HONG KONG in a different way from other Hong Kong movies at that time.  (KWON Yong Min)