Wah Dee (Andy Lau) is a getaway driver for a Hong Kong triad gang. When a jewellery store robbery goes wrong, he impulsively takes 16-year-old bystander Jo-Jo (Jacklyn Wu) hostage. When Jo-Jo learns the identity of Wah Dee’s accomplices, they demand he kill her to keep their identities safe. When Wah Dee then goes on the run with Jo-Jo in tow, he finds himself hunted down by both sides of the law.

A Moment of Romance is a 1990 Hong Kong-based blend of action thriller and romance. It was the second film to be directed by Benny Chan, and produced by fellow filmmakers Ringo Lam and Johnnie To. In many respects it can be seen as a bridge between film movements. Lam was directly involved in the 1980s explosion of stylish, melodramatic action films in the territory. While John Woo stole much of the limelight of the so-called “heroic bloodshed” genre through his iconic films A Better Tomorrow (1986) and The Killer (1989), Lam was hugely prolific via works including City on Fire, Prison on Fire (both 1987), School on Fire (1988), and Wild Search (1989). Much of A Moment of Romance derives from the narrative model and aesthetic conventions set up by Woo, Lam, and producer/director Tsui Hark.

By the end of the 1990s Hong Kong action-thrillers had largely mutated into newer, morally ambiguous forms, featuring less formalised stories and a far glossier, stylised approach. Like Woo and Lam before him, Johnnie To emerged as a figurehead for this new style of action cinema. His films, including The Longest Nite, A Hero Never Dies (both 1998), Running Out of Time, and The Mission (both 1999), presented a more idiosyncratic version of the heroic bloodshed genre.

It is significant, then, that Ringo Lam and Johnnie To loaned a producing hand to Benny Chan’s sophomore feature. It is, stylistically and narratively, a clear contribution to 1980s-founded heroic bloodshed cinema. At the same time it shows off distinctive roots of something more complex and character-focused, and foreshadows in multiple ways To’s future contributions to the genre. To would even direct the second sequel to this film in 1996.

Andy Lau and Jacklyn Wu show off tremendous chemistry as their characters transition from hostage taker and prisoner to willing lovers. The film captures Lau in ascendant mode as a movie star. He appeared in 12 feature films in 1990, including Wong War-wai’s Days of Being Wild, Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers II, and Kevin Chu’s Island of Fire. Wu made her acting debut here, and her screen appeal and gifted performance here foreshadows the acclaim she would later receive in Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman in 1994.

Ng Man-tat performs an award-winning turn here as Wah Dee’s confidante and general comic relief character Rambo. Other decent supporting performances include work by Wong Kwong-leung, Chu Tit-wo, and Lau Kong. While the film has perhaps less action than one might expect, it is well staged and effectively shot. Lo Tayu and Fabio Carli’s electronic score is very much of its time and type, but remains well-suited to the action.

To a degree A Moment of Romance has fallen into comparative obscurity, although a Radiance restored blu-ray should have helped restore its profile in recent years. It should be remembered as a key part in the journey of Hong Kong crime films, from one decade to the next.