The System

2025 4K restoration by M+, through the support of CHANEL

In British-colonized Hong Kong, Inspector Chan enlists the help of his informant Uncle Tam (Sek Kin), the assistant to drug lord Hung, in a risky bid to bring Hung down. Pressured by his British superior, Chan (Pai Ying) puts everything on the line for an all-out operation, only to find himself ensnared in a solitary reckoning with the true nature of his mission.

In his feature debut, filmmaker Peter Yung boldly reimagines the police procedural, infusing it with a documentary style rooted in investigative journalism. Drawing on extensive research, Yung sets the tonal blueprint for what would become the Hong Kong New Wave – a movement defined by directors like Tsui Hark, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Wong Kar-wai, John Woo, and others. Beyond its gripping portrayal of police work, THE SYSTEM (a title that resonates all too well) confronts the bureaucratic abuse of power imposed on those at the frontline. Yung’s meditation on undercover work and double agency exposes the steep cost of justice, one that seldom seeks to end crime itself. At its core lies a hunger for identity and a quiet, piercing critique of British colonial rule.

– Wentao Ma