AKA: Hak Seh Wui
Country: Hong Kong (2005)
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Wong Tin Lan
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Review By: Charlie Prince
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

If you like Hong Kong action movies, you undoubtedly know that the “Triads” are the Hong Kong equivalent of the Mafia. You’ve likely seen countless such films, and the frenetic – almost ballet-like – violence that has come to be associated with the genre. You probably either got started with the recent Infernal Affairs films, or more likely the earlier John Woo films, especially Hard Boiled and The Killer. You may even be following the latest wave of such films, many of which star Andy Lau, Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong. But, in any case, by now you’ve certainly learned to keep an eye out for Johnnie To – arguably the most important director currently working in the genre.

Johnnie To’s latest film, Election, promised from Day One to be a new gold standard among Triad films. Thus the expectations for the film were impossibly high, and certainly it is not the reinvention of cinema. Nevertheless, I recommend the film heartily, with the caveat, as detailed further below, that it assumes a significant familiarity with the Triad film genre. For those coming to this genre anew, the film may seem disjointed or inaccessible – this is no gateway film. But the film is noteworthy for several reasons.

First off, the Hong Kong film censors are notoriously stingy in permitting films to portray lifelike details of Triad rituals and customs. Although I’ve never confirmed this, popular rumor is that the acting out of any Triad ceremony at all is sufficient to guarantee the ominous Category III rating (akin to NC-17).

Election laughs in the face of such restrictions. An initial poster for the film showed a group photo of many gangsters, all using a hand-sign to indicate each individual’s position in the gang. And press material handed out at Cannes for the film went even further, with page-by-page diagrams of each hand signal and what it represented! For longtime watchers of Hong Kong Triad movies, Election was akin to a giant on-screen kiss in a Bollywood film – in other words, the hand-signs alone were enough to make one gasp. It didn’t escape the Category III rating by any means, but it stands nonetheless as a bold rejection of the cultural bias against detailing the specifics of Triad activities. (As an aside, Martin Booth’s excellent book “The Dragon Syndicates: the Global Phenomenon of the Triads” goes into far more detail on this illicit underworld than all the films combined).

Triad minutiae aside, this is a Johnnie To film after all, and that’s reason enough to celebrate. In case it’s not fresh in your memory, allow me a moment to recap To’s remarkable career. Having directed over forty films since 1980, To got off to an early start in the Triad genre with the well-regarded The Story of Ah-Long (1989) starring Chow Yun Fat. But it wasn’t until a decade later that he really began to make his mark. 1999 saw the release of two influential To films – Running Out of Time and The Mission. Although Running Out of Time was deemed worhty of a (lesser) sequal, which was made in 2001, it was The Mission in particular that impacted not only Hong Kong cinema, but brought the director to the acute attention of Hollywood brass (several remakes and reimaginations of the film are currently in the works, including an excellent script by the writer of The Usual Suspects). To’s films in recent years have been increasingly popular. Though some find its smirking references to video games to detract from the film, Fulltime Killer (2001) is unquestionably entertaining. 2003 saw the release of PTU, arguably To’s best film, though most would likely point to the recent break-out success of Running on Karma (also 2003) as the highlight of his career. Admittedly, 2004 was a step back for the director. The humdrum “thriller” Breaking News may have been an attempt at a safe, mainstream suspense film, but it was so cookie-cutter (and reminiscent of the endless Phone Booth-type movies being released in the USA) that I had to double-check that To had in fact directed the film – it lacked all of his signature visual flair. Throw Down (also 2004) was more of a respectable effort (and largely failure) in that it was going for a more experimental feel, with the gangster genre film as a backdrop. Though the emphasis on judo fights was largely misleading (they are in the film, but in the end this is more a character-driven drama than an action movie), the “mood” of the film is the star here, and though it never got off the ground, I can at least connect the dots to similar “mood-only” films in Japan, such as Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl or the recent Survive Style +5.

With Election, To appeared to have shaken free of the 2004 doldrums. How much more “back in form” could he get than an all-out Triad ceremony about the election of a new leader? There have been so many Triad films, it was hard to imagine a seriously new take on the genre, but Election promised to go where other Triad film directors feared to tread.

But then distant rumblings started rolling in that the film was a disappointment. That it was incoherent – or at least hard to follow. Even my trusted dvd suppliers here in Chinatown warned me that non-Chinese viewers weren’t liking it. It was easy to believe, especially after Throw Down and Breaking News, that To could have fumbled the ball again, but the sense of disappointment here threatened to be more severe.

Luckily, the rumors are wrong. Election is not incoherent. It more than competently tells the tale of a Triad group (the Wo Sing) in the midst of an ages-old election for a new leader. There are two major candidates. One, “Lok” (Simon Yam) is unusually cool headed, and by all appearances probably the better choice to lead the Wo Sing. The other, “Big D” (Tony Leung Ka Fai) is a hot head, but also wildly successful in expanding business. This latter candidate, Big D, has made big bribes by the time the seniors in the gang (the “uncles”) come to a vote. But a last-minute none-too-subtle pitch for Lok, by the most-senior former-boss “Uncle Teng” (Wong Tin Lan – who nearly steals the film, he does such a good job) ensures Lok’s win – subject to the traditional (and in this case literal) passing of the baton. The same baton has been used for something like 100 years and this is one formality that is taken seriously.

Big D takes the news badly, and immediately resorts to violence to take the leadership by force. Big D’s supporters try to stop the passing of the baton (which has been kept in mainland China for safekeeping) and Lok’s supporters try to beat them to it. Most of the action in the film results from this confrontation, and (spoiler ahead) before long Lok wins this battle. But the violence in the interim has awoken the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong police. Their attitude is fairly straight-forward – if you cut off one arm of the Triads, another limb will immediately grow back in its place. In other words, fighting the Triads is hopeless – you can’t get rid of them. Instead, the police focus on ensuring that the Triads that do exist aren’t openly violent, and to this end arrest everyone in the Wo Sing gang. In tough-talk sit-downs with each, the police demand that the violence stop immediately – a resolution wanted by everyone in the gang except Big D and his dwindling supporters. But Big D doesn’t back down, and in an exciting showdown with Uncle Teng (although not the chairman, Uncle Teng clearly runs the Wo Sing on account of his seniority in the gang), Big D tries to avoid answering the question “Do you suggest you’ll start a new gang?” But when Uncle Teng presses him (for the 3rd time) to answer the question, Big D comes out with it – yes, he’ll start a “New Wo Sing” if necessary. That’s all Uncle Teng needs to hear, and he goes back to explain matter-of-factly to the chief of police: war is imminent, the Wo Sing can never be allowed to splinter into smaller groups. The chief of police is flabbergasted, but Uncle Teng is resolute, explaining they have customs they must follow, just as the police do.

When everyone is released from jail, Lok immediately (as in, within a minute of leaving jail) pulls Big D into his car and lays down the situation: I’m the leader and I have the baton; just as before, you’ll keep your profits for current businesses; All new business will be split 50-50 between us; I’ll support you for chairman in two years at the next election. Accept these terms or get out of my car and it’s war. (Spoiler ahead) Big D stays in the car. Thus, an uneasy truce is brokered, and they storm back through Hong Kong, picking up new business as they go. But can it last? You’ll have to see the film yourself to find the answer. But let’s just say that I wasn’t disappointed in the ending.

There was one sub-plot that went nowhere and is worth noting. Some time in the early parts of the film is spent developing the character “Jimmy” (Louis Koo). He’s a rising underling (not yet of “Uncle” status) and currently a second-in-command to a degenerate gambler. He’s extremely competent and instantly likable – the kind of character you’re sure will drive the plot to some kind of peak. But after this impressive, endearing entrance, his character simply dissolves into the background of the film. Seems like a waste to me – what a great character to just toss to the sidelines! All I can think is that maybe this guy is being setup for a big role in a yet-to-be-announced sequel. His situation is begging for a film of its own. We’ll see if that’s what pans out, but in the meantime, the character is disappointingly uninvolved in the main plot.

Overall, I found the film engrossing, and give it our top rating of four stars. But I do have a guess as to why there are rumblings that the film is convoluted. Election features much less traditional “action” or gangland violence than we’ve come to expect from such a film. Which is not to say the violence is entirely or even largely absent (Big D’s initial reaction upon hearing he’s lost the election is plenty violent). But this is more of a convincingly chaotic series of chess moves between two powerful gang leaders, where the violent impact on the outside world is largely not shown. In its place is the attempt by old guard triad members to leverage the traditional values of the “code of the Triads” against modern, practical money-grubbing. In that sense, this has tinges of a Triad version of the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, except explicitly without the epic scope of those films.

Election certainly spends little time introducing viewers to the Triad world. Triad activities and money-making schemes are referenced but not exemplified, and To seems to assume that most viewers have already seen enough such films that examples of “protection money” etc. are unnecessary. As a result, and in contrast to the stand-alone Infernal Affairs films which take the time to walk viewers through Triad/police infiltration from soup to nuts, Election builds on – and relies on – an understanding of the genre stereotypes of past films. Thus it is able to dive immediately into the election of a new chairman. I suspect the Triad-film-literate will appreciate this and greatly enjoy the film. Newbies to the genre may struggle a bit, however. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t see the film, or that you shouldn’t recommend the film to friends. It just means you should show them a “gateway” Triad film first. My personal favorite to jump-start the genre is the Anthony Wong starring Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, though certainly any of a large number of Triad movies will do. But so long as you don’t go in expecting wall-to-wall action – which you won’t get – my guess is most viewers will be delighted with Election.

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© Charlie Prince

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