ELECTION
Rating: *** ½ (out of ****)
Cast: Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung, Lam Ka Tung, Cheung Siu Fai, Lam Suet
Director: Johnnie To
Now on DVD from Alliance.

[I wrote about this movie in a Seven-Day Rentals column a few weeks ago, but since it has finally received an official North American release, now is a good time to talk about it further]

The Hong Kong film industry, which in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s was one of the most productive and innovative in the world, has fallen on hard times. Piracy, always a problem in the Far East, has been seriously eroding box office totals, and interesting young talent has not been forthcoming; many of Hong Kong’s up-and-comers are recording stars who have been given movie contracts regardless of their acting talent, and the actors who can still bring in ticket buyers are the same aging stars from fifteen years ago (Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, etc.). Furthermore, Hong Kong audiences have been showing an increasing preference for Hollywood productions. In 1992, the highest-grossing American film in Hong Kong, Basic Instinct, was only the region’s 12th biggest film of the year. In 2005, only two local productions made the yearly top 10.

The silver lining: while Hong Kong is no longer the filmmaking powerhouse it once was, it is not yet creatively bankrupt. The last few years have brought the release of Infernal Affairs, Kung Fu Hustle, 2046, SPL, New Police Story, Curse of the Golden Flower, After This Our Exile, Shaolin Soccer, Lust, Caution, and Dumplings. Any film industry that can release a crop of movies like that should not be written off.

A filmmaker that some commentators have been pointing to as the possible savlation of the Hong Kong film industry is Johnnie To. At age 53, he has already directed 46 movies, but has only recently begun to hit his stride. His recent films Exiled, Throwdown, Fulltime Killer, and Breaking News, among others, have met with critical acclaim and strong box office. He has proven himself to be a master of combining art and commerce, and nowhere is this more apparent than in his 2005 film Election, which won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Picture and played in competition at Cannes.

The head of a powerful Chinese triad society has died, and a democratic election among the triad members has been conducted to determine his successor. The candidates: Lok (Simon Yee), a quiet, calculating family man, and Big D (Tony Leung Ka-fai), a flamboyant and volatile loudmouth. After much in the way of bribery and deceit, Lok wins the election, but Big D, angered by the outcome, resolves to start his own triad clan. The conflict: for over one hundred years, the leader of Lok’s triad group has always possessed a ceremonial baton, which symbolizes and legitimizes his reign in the eyes of the triad members. Big D’s camp has the baton, and are unwilling to give it back.

Election could be compared to the work of Martin Scorsese with its mob milieu and shocking violence, but unlike most American mob movies, this film doesn’t have a breakneck pace or an electric charge. In fact, the two lead characters have surprisingly little screen time. The approach that Johnnie To takes is more clinical. While it has two interesting characters in Lok and Big D, To is more interesting in the chaos around them – the backroom deals, the negotiations, the corruption. The film is fascinating and quite convincing in its depiction of the inner-workings of a triad society.

There are a lot of characters and a lot of plot developments, and Western audiences will likely have trouble keeping track of everything that’s going on, but I’m reminded of what Roger Ebert said of Once Upon a Time in America: “There are times when we don’t understand exactly what is happening, but never a time when we don’t feel confidence in the film’s narrative.” Given the phenomenal success of a certain Infernal Affairs remake called The Departed, I’m sure some American studios have considered Election for a remake, but I don’t think it would work. This is a distinctly Asian film whose internal logic relies on themes of tradition and loyalty that are more Chinese than American. Yet despite this, the film ends on a note of betrayal that is absolutely perfect in its nihilism. The Chinese triads in the film can talk all they want about brotherhood, but in the end, there is no honour among thieves.

* * *

Incidentally, a sequel, Election 2, was released less than a year after the original film, and received similar critical praise. It has recently been released on DVD in North America under the title Triad Election.