Office

(Hua li shang ban zu, Johnnie To, Hong Kong/China 2015, 117 min., DCP, Cantonese w/subtitles)

Symmetry of Violence: Seven Films by Johnnie To. Billion-dollar company Jones & Sunn is going public. Chairman Ho Chung-ping has promised CEO Chang, who has been his mistress for more than twenty years, to become a major shareholder of the company. As the IPO team enters the company to audit its accounts, a series of inside stories start to be revealed. Lee Xiang, a new hire at Jones & Sunn, brings with him youthful ideals and dreams. Within the neoliberal market, the logic of intrigue rules, complicated by entanglements of love-hate relationships, which weaves a power play and a pathos-laden tragedy inside the office. Adapted from Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang’s play, critically acclaimed director Johnnie To’s Office depicts the fast-paced and glamorous corporate lives of and between men and women. Comedy, romance and musical Office boasts an all-star cast including Chow Yun Fat, Sylvia Chang, Eason Chan, and Tang Wei.

“Far removed from Johnnie To’s tradition of tough action movies, this spectacular musical extravaganza breaks entirely new ground for him. In a way, it must also be a dream come true, for To has always indulged in at least one piece of cinematic bravura in every picture he has made, sometimes more. Here he springs into virtuoso mode from the start and doesn’t stop until almost two hours later.” – Screen International