Election 1 & 2 (Johnnie To, 2005/06)

[Michael Kerpan]

Mega-masterpiece?

I haven't actually seen "Mission" yet -- as I've put off getting the reportedly mediocre DVD -- hoping for a re-mastered special edition.

;~}

[jcelwin]

Mission was very well set and made. But, it is really let down by a total lack of story. It is just a bunch of cool scenes. Nothing special.

[Lino]

Topic, people. Please.

[jcelwin]

Ok, ok. Election is quite good. The middle is just a lot of [what seems like] 'filler'. They could have fitted much more into the film if they condensed the middle. But, the ending is excellent.

I would say that it is a good film, but definitely not a masterpiece. I haven't seen the second one, but I would like to see where they take it. The first one doesn't seem finished, although the ending does conclude the film. I think the main reason that it doesn't seem finished is because there is so much 'filler' in the middle.

[Satyajit's Son]

I have only seen the first one and I thought it was totally over rated. It's average at best

[Michael Kerpan]

"Election 2" is a bit of a let-down. Somehow it feels a bit schematic. Very very violent (so much so that it makes some of its characters barf at what is being done). Some great scenes -- but not as good as "Election 1".

[Lino]

The two of them are on the way for me. I'll post my thoughts here once I watch them.

Edit: Finally watched both Election movies over the course of the past 3 days (I purposely allowed myself a day between the first and the second installment so that the story, the filmmaking and storytelling methods of Johnnie To could sink in on me). BTW, these two were my introduction to this director's work.

And I must say I'm pretty much impressed. They definitely did not disappoint. And while I wouldn't go so far as to call them masterpieces, they're both above average films that will leave you thinking about them long after you've watched them. And these are the best kind, right?

I asked earlier about them being a sort of a Hong Kong response to the Yakuza Papers series of films. That could not be further from the truth. The Election movies (being about the chinese Mafia) are more akin to the Godfather movies in both tone and pace than the fast-going and hysterically edited Fukasaku's opuses.

Johnnie To has imbued his films with a sense of dread and importance that permeates them to the core. Not to mention that these two movies have an air of sheer class about them, aided no doubt by a wonderfully dark and glacial cinematography. A special mention must also go to the great score that really clothes both movies and even help them as a narrative device. Very, very good.

But I think that in way to really appreciate them, you've got to see them as wonderful chess-playing and if you use this perspective, it all really falls into place. There are moments when nothing really happens (someone above refered to these as "filler" but I think otherwise) because the big players or masterminds are calculating their next actions, so these kind of moments are necessary to what follows -- takeovers in the form of torture, killings or ruthless schemings. Just like a real life Chess board game.

And you barely see the Queens, so to speak. These are very masculine-driven movies. It's a man's world, the Triads and Johnnie To understands this. This is all about Money and Power. And the men behind that dangerous game.

Ultimately, I'd like to say that I hope he makes a third installment because the end of the second one is simply too much of a cliff-hanger. Too many things are left in the open and I, for one would like to see where things will go from there.

[fred]

I haven't actually seen "Mission" yet -- as I've put off getting the reportedly mediocre DVD -- hoping for a re-mastered special edition.

The Mission is definitely one of To's best (along with Throw Down, Running on Karma, Yesterday Once More and, yes, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts--but there are lots of very strong films). The HK DVD is a disaster, but the very reasonably priced French DVD looks fantastic. Still no sign of a new HK DVD, so if you can handle French subs, it's the way to go.

[filmnoir1]

Has anyone else purchased Election 2 yet? The image quality is great. In addition this part of the film series about the Triad's shows the real fear that gangsters and people in Hong Kong have of the Chinese governement and its influence. This film fits in well with Wong Kar-wai's and Stanley Kwan's meditations on Hong Kong's status in the 21st century.

[Mise En Scene]

Am I the only one who found "The Mission"'s film score annoying (especially the first of the three pieces used in the film; or were there more than three?)? I think it's the worst I've ever heard.

From what I've seen so far "PTU" is his best only marred by unnecessary slow motion (yes, I know it's a HK film, but to me it didn't fit well with the rest of the film's style).

Spoiler

Who did that telephone guy in the final shootout work for?

"Fulltime Killer" would've been great if it weren't for the, again, slow motion.

"Hero Never Dies" was unintentionally hilarious. Or was it meant to be funny? Great motel scene, though.

"Running on Karma" was entertaining as hell despite me hating the costume and not having a clue anymore from the moment

Spoiler

Lee Fung Yee went into the forest and on. Was Jade and Lee Fung Yee the same person? If not, how can Big be in the mountains looking for Sun Ko and in the city helping Lee? Or do I have the whole chronology screwed up? I'm gonna read the user's comments at IMDB to see if anyone has the answers. Just saw this film yesterday

These are the only To's I've seen.

[JHunter]

"Hero Never Dies" was unintentionally hilarious. Or was it meant to be funny? Great motel scene, though.

I haven't seen the film in a few years, but I remember there being a great deal of debate about it when the film came out. Was it a homage to the "heroic bloodshed" genre that dominated much of the previous decade or a deadpan parody? It is difficult to tell for sure, since I've never seen an interview with To about the movie. I would probably lean toward parody.

It's a great film, though. I absolutely love the early "battle" between Lau Ching-wan and Leon Lai at their favorite bar. The two men crash their cars into each other -- head on -- until both vehicles are destroyed, then continue their war inside by chucking a heavy coin at each other's wine glasses until one finally misses (all edited to an English language version of the song "Sukiyaki"). It's just one of so many fantastically edited pieces in the film.

Hopefully we'll get an anamorphic re-release some day (along with many of the other Milkyway titles, like The Mission, The Longest Nite, Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 and The Odd One Dies).

And for fans of The Mission, Johnnie To's "sequel" (thematically, featuring the same cast) Exiled is now available on HK DVD.

[Mise En Scene]

Because you brought up the parody option, it reminded me of Bordwell possibly saying something about mock-heroism and parody about some To movie. So, I looked in his TWHTI book and he called the coin game a mock-heroic passage.

Now, the film is much better in my eyes. Perhaps watching it after The Mission and PTU made me take the film as an earnest genre film (by earnest I mean non-parodic).

Makes me wonder if Fulltime Killer is parody as well.

Maybe To gives the answers to them, but all the extras on the Tai Seng DVDs have no English subs, damnit.

[JHunter]

I finally got around to watching Exiled, To's follow-up to The Mission, last night and find it difficult to express my feelings on the film without sounding like a fanboy rambling. What an amazing film! Every frame of the film just oozes with cool. It might be the best action film out of Hong Kong since John Woo's prime.

[Antoine Doinel]

Finally saw this tonight and I didn't find it to be the masterpiece many are claiming. To wants to explore both the value and folly of following tradition, but the result is a film that at times is so rooted in following the code of the triad that the narrative stalls or doesn't know where to go, especially in the middle third. It certainly didn't help that the two twists toward the end of the film were completely predictable. That said, I can't remember the last time I saw a gangster film in which not one gun is fired or even drawn, yet it is still viciously violent and surprisingly tense. To is a master of tone and even though Election played out, for me, unspectacularly, the mastery of the director at the helm simply cannot be ignored.

Oh yeah, and stay away from the R1 DVD, which despite being letterboxed, still manages to cut off the frame on both right and left hand sides (mostly noticeable during the opening credits when names are cut off).