Exiled

(Fong juk, Johnnie To, Hong Kong 2006, 110 min., 35mm, Cantonese w/subtitles)

Symmetry of Violence: Seven Films by Johnnie To. The time is 1998. The setting is Macau. Every living soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. Against this background of fin-de-siècle malaise come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost. For the jaded hit men, they wonder where this journey will end. “To’s shoot-outs are masterful displays of composition and choreography, often unfolding in cramped apartments, open-air stairwells and courtyards. The final confrontation is a slow-motion, De Palma-esque massacre in a hotel lobby that begins and ends in the amount of time it takes for a high-flying can of Red Bull to hit the floor. Breathtaking.” – Ken Fox (TV Guide)