1. Why was Sam and his crew let go earlier in the movie after the cocaine bust?
2. How come Yan never got addicted to cocaine or any other drugs we could assume he tested during his time as a mole? Was he getting any treatment for them at all?
3. What did the quotes (I'll assume they're quotes) at the beginning and end of the film say? My DVD didn't have subtitles for those parts.
4. Why did Lau decide to kill Sam?
Well i can answer your 3rd question, kind of. The quote at the beginning of the film is very very important. It read, 'The worst of the 8 hells is called continuous hell' Its a Buddist saying which links with the film as buddism plays quite a big role. The last quote wasn't a quote as such, but it was telling the viewer that *** was proved to be an undercover police officer after files were found on him. This resulted in him being buried next to the other police officers. I'm not sure if you have seen Infernal Affairs 2 or 3 but they might help you answer the other questions. Consider all 3 films as one film as they all connect and are of the same story.
share1. They weren't busted. Keung dumped the coke into the sea before he was nabbed.
2. I wondered that too. I guess he's just a badass.
3.
Start: "Avici is the lowest of the eight hells. It brings continuous, neverending suffering, hence the name."
End: "The one who falls in Avici never dies, for it is his longevity that is the greatest suffering of all."
4. Throughout the film you'll see that Lau is consistently resentful of the position he's in from the very beginning where he wants to trade places with Yan. He eventually becomes illusioned with his life as a top cop and believes he can be the good guy once and for all. And killing Sam would clear all his misdoings...or so he thought.
That last scene really left an impression on me. You have Yan, kicked out of school with a life full of crime and misery waiting for him, and Lau who is on the righteous path of being a cop. Yet Yan is walking on the noble road(the eightfold path if you will), free of his conscience, while Lau is literally locked in his mental prison forever.
The third movie show Lau's mental state deteriorating as he falls deeper into self-deceit. I highly recommend it.