Like many of the other members of Hong Kong New Wave films, Tam began in television.
He edited Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, contributing the cameo appearance of Tony Leung Chi-wai in the last scene, and Ashes of Time, as well as Johnnie To's Election.
As part of Hong Kong's New Wave of film directors in the late 1970s and 1980s, Tam's work enjoys great acclaim.
According to the Hong Kong film critic Perry Lam, writing in Muse magazine, "[Tam's] unpredictable digressions and swift changes of scene can evoke a dreamer's logic, but his sound and images are always sharp and particular.
"[3] As of 2006, Tam was an assistant professor at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.