Election. by Johnnie To. Review from the R3 HK DVD.
Instinct and trailers, that's what drives my choices of films. Not always following any particular Director for too long, although I do occasionally latch onto certain Directors or Studios and follow them - that sort of buying making up probably half of my DVDs - this is my first Johnnie To movie, and a rare experience of a HK film. It's a great, modern-looking Triad movie that's very well filmed, but a little confusing for some sections of the narrative, there being a relatively large cast in a world that looks a little too isolated from Triad life at large.
Maybe it's in order to give a more intimate, insular or important record of a world about which I can imagine many only having the slightest sense of - Mr.To says as much on the interview supplied on the disc, that this is his record of Triad life, intended for local audiences. Maybe it's the only structure that's possible to tell in a fashion that gives a strong sense of reality? Who knows, but I will pass along my thoughts, and I would appreciate some more background on other HK / Triad movies, how this one relates to those, and what is potentially known of that world in actuality.
Coming at this from a place of relative ignorance here, not a HK film fan for the most part, love Anthony Wong, really enjoyed some of the early John Woo films (Chow Yun Fat is superb), probably get most from the very few (and more traditionally horror in style)Cat 3 movies I've seen as they stand out to my eyes as the most obviously different to usual HK fare. Never seen a Johnnie To movie before, but as I've seen mentioned before it's not often the knowledge that's as important as how open-minded you are about what you watch. Having said that, like I say, not that hot on HK stuff - so what is usual fare?
Anyway, locked onto this film after seeing the trailer a while back. Nice dark looking film about gang fighting it seemed. It's actually a drama about political balance within a particular Triad Group called Wo Sing - an unusually small group of 30 thousand or so people. Election time has come around, two names are in the hat for control of all the moneymaking opportunities that their imagination and political diplomacy can muster. The names of the two that lead the narrative of power searching are Lok and Big D. Bribery, threatening looks and general bad behaviour that doesn't exactly build a picture of democracy come into play. The two rival potential bosses are different in a chalk and cheese fashion, Lok being a modern amiable businessman figure and Big D being a hot-headed thug who doesn't take no for an answer. Each has their potential voters and followers, this being a time and lifestyle caught between tradition and modernity.
Throw into the pot then, a whole heap of other oddly named characters that make up the numbers of the supposedly huge triad groups. Little sense of triad activity and the larger picture in here, Johnnie To having opted to attempt to portray certain elements - the politics and infighting primarily. In a sense, I get the impression this is to Triad movies what Fukasaku is to Yakuza movies, an attempt to reassess or to portray it all in a more realistic tone. Whether it is realistic or not is also debatable, with little sense of firm knowledge being anything more than whispers and personal opinion, or is it all just so much more mysterious than I know? There's the basic historical context thrown in, but beyond that you have to take the word of those involved that this is the historical document that Mr.To seems to believe in the premise behind making the film.
The story certainly gets hugely confusing at times, and yes I am not one for huge casts in films as nobody (or at least very few do) seems gets time to fully flesh themselves out. If you let the film kind of wash over you for certain sections you at least come through with a sense of what's happening, and things clarify later on. Although the world of HK DVDs is a little odd in the past at least, the picture quality helps with the largely dark, pretty modern look that's somewhat similar to 'Infernal Affairs', and just gritty dramas anywhere I suppose, but I get a sense this is attempting a fairly unfamiliar approach for HK film? Maybe not, no expert like I say.
The infighting is the main play of the film, discussions in dark rooms, discussions in dark cells, discussions in dark police offices. There's some lovely cinematography, very straightforward looking still shots and compositions. Great daylight sequences on mountainsides and riverbanks. A very well constructed film that's let down by my experience at watching and understanding the language, potentially by the semi-broken English and bad punctuation of the Subtitles. Mr.To holds off at some distance to create some very memorable torture and murder scenes, with there being little gratuitous violence in here - prolonged, certainly - but in comparison to Yakuza movies, well there's no gun action (the oddest aspect of all for me) and the deaths are few and far between.
Imagine a more sparsely-violent Yakuza movie like 'Battles Without Honour or Humanity', with a less sophisticated script and more modern production styles, and then you can see that if you enjoy dialogue-laden films with appropriate breaks for action, then you're in for a treat. A muddled mid-section then lets it down a little, overall a different and enjoyable experience that's not flashy in its production style. Very classy look, rich visuals, some stunning silent sections too - and an ending to die for. The disc(s) themselves are very well presented, lovely packaging and menu designs - the only quibbles being the subtitles: well, at least there's subs on the interviews and the making-of on the second disc which is an exception for any disc from the Asian countries. Oh, and love the music - very nicely used.
