Election (2005) (Chinese)

March 12, 2008 · Posted in Action, Chinese Movies, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Johnnie To’s gritty take on triad warfare is full of cinematic storytelling, deadpan absurdities, and disturbingly cool criminals. It’s also a well-made kick in the teeth for a film industry that’s been languishing for too long. Election does end on a shocking, though thematically appropriate downer, and a lot of minor developments seem to get introduced then promptly ignored. Still, this is as good as Hong Kong Cinema gets nowadays.

Director:Johnny To
Writers:Nai-Hoi Yau (written by) &
Tin-Shing Yip (written by)
Cast: Simon Yam, Louis Koo, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Nick Cheung, Suet Lam, Sui-fat Cheung
Genre:Crime / Drama / Thriller
Also Known As:Election (International: English title) (UK)
Black Society (China: Cantonese title) (literal English title)
Election: Vol 1 (UK) (DVD box title)
Election: Volume 1 (UK) (DVD title)
Runtime:China:85 min (cut version) / USA:100 min / France:101 min (Cannes Film Festival)
Country:Hong Kong
Language:Cantonese / Mandarin / English
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0434008/