Election

(Hak se wui, Johnnie To, Hong Kong 2005, 100 min., 35mm, Cantonese w/subtitles)

Symmetry of Violence: Seven Films by Johnnie To. Every two years, the senior members of the Wo Shing Wo, the oldest gang in Hong Kong, elect an up-and-coming younger boss as their chairman. The two candidates they are voting on couldn’t be farther apart in personality: Lok (Simon Yam) is a levelheaded businessman and Big D (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) is a loud, obnoxious, violent criminal. When the voting does not go how some people would have liked, lines are divided and a gang war begins to form. “The best film of the year.” – Quentin Tarantino