Election (2005 film)

''Election'' (; literal title: ''Black Society'', a common Cantonese reference to the triads), is a 2005 Hong Kong crime film directed by Johnnie To. Featuring a large ensemble cast, the film stars Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-fai as two gang leaders engaged in a power struggle to become the new leader of a Hong Kong triad.

The film premiered as an "Official Selection" at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, before being released in Hong Kong on 20 October 2005, with a Category III rating. A sequel, ''Election 2'' (also known as ''Triad Election'' in the United States), was released in 2006.

Hilary Hongjin He, a doctoral student at the University of Western Sydney, stated that compared to its sequel, this film is "less political or suspicious" from a Mainland standpoint.

Plot

In Hong Kong, the triad Wo Lin Shing is in the process of electing its new chairman as the previous chairman's five-year term is expiring. The two leading contenders, Lok and Big D, are doing some last-minute "campaigning" days before the election. Lok is calm, patient and even-tempered, while Big D, who attempts to buy the election, is boisterous, impatient and quick-tempered. After some quarrelling among both candidates' supporters, Lok is elected the new chairman. Big D, dismayed by the result, punishes two men responsible for his loss by kidnapping them and rolling them down a hill in wooden boxes. Whistle, the ex-chairman, instructs his lieutenant Four-Eyes to hide the dragonhead baton, a symbol of the chairman's authority.

The police, under Chief Superintendent Hui's leadership, step in to prevent infighting and maintain the peace by arresting the triad's key figures, including Big D and Lok. During an attempt at peace negotiation, Big D threatens to break away from Wo Lin Shing and form a new triad. As the triad's culture emphasises brotherhood and unity, Big D's action would be unacceptable and could lead to violence, which both the triad key figures and the police wish to avoid.

In the meantime, both Lok and Big D's supporters have sent their henchmen to Guangzhou to retrieve the baton. Jimmy wants to take matters into his own hands since Big D severely injured his uncle Long Gun. After some intercepting and fighting between both sides, Jimmy acquires the baton and ends up giving it to Lok since Lok convinces him it will be good for the society. Big D is released on bail after it is paid by Lok. Lok, using the baton, secures his position as the triad's new chairman and proposes a truce to end the conflict. Big D accepts on the condition that they will take over the Tsim Sha Tsui area together, and that he will succeed Lok as chairman after two years. Lok and Big D successfully take over Tsim Sha Tsui, but Big D still desires to be chairman so he proposes to Lok that they share the chairmanship. Lok sees this as a challenge to his authority, so he murders Big D and his wife during a fishing trip, with his son Denny seeing him kill Big D.

Cast

* Simon Yam as Lok
* Tony Leung Ka-fai as Big D
* Louis Koo as Jimmy
* Nick Cheung as Jet
* Cheung Siu-fai as So
* Lam Suet as Big-Head
* Gordon Lam as Kun
* Wong Tin-lam as Uncle Teng
* Maggie Shiu as Big D's wife
* David Chiang as Chief Superintendent Hui
* Berg Ng as Senior Inspector Tad
* Raymond Wong as Detective Wong
* You Yong as Assistant Police Chief Shi
* Law Wing-cheong as Four-Eyes
* Kwok Fung as Fish-Head

Development

According to To, he had no intention of making a version of this film for Mainland China. The production company made an altered version anyway, titled ''Longcheng Suiyue'' (). According to Hilary He, this version has "ten major cuts or changes". An undercover law enforcement agent is added in this version, while the scene revealing that a mafia member was being used by the PRC Central Government as a mole was omitted. One scene erases a mention of the Birth tourism in Hong Kong, where Mainland Chinese parents give birth in Hong Kong so their children become Hong Kong permanent residents. In this version all of the criminals face arrest and there is a scene where elders give lessons to youth about avoiding the mafia.

Release

Box office

At the end of its box-office run in Hong Kong, ''Election'' grossed about HK$15.59 million, which is considered to be quite high for a film that received a Category III rating (18+ restriction) in Hong Kong.

Reception

''The A.V. Club'''s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky writes, " ohnnieTo’s saga makes plain that self-interest, far more than traditional ideas about honor, defines contemporary crooks. While that’s hardly an astonishing revelation, the writer-director deftly generates suspense (as well as sly comedy) from a mood of all-consuming untrustworthiness. ..Thrilling and amusing in equally dark measure, it’s an incisive portrait of a dysfunctional family-style organization struggling to update its sordid operation in an age of unchecked capitalist greed."

Distribution

''Election'' was sold to more than 21 territories, including Optimum Releasing for the United Kingdom, ARP Sélection for France and Hopscotch Films for Australia, after screening at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in competition. Tartan Films has acquired all United States rights to this movie as of May 2006.

Awards and nominations

The movie is notable in being nominated for 14 Golden Horse Awards in Hong Kong cinema. The film was named Best Film of 2005 in the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, with To also clinching Best Director honours for the movie.

See also

* Johnnie To filmography
* List of Hong Kong films
* List of movies set in Hong Kong

References

External links

''Election''
a
LoveHKFilm.com
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Election (2005 Film)
2005 films
2000s crime films
Hong Kong crime films
Triad films
2000s Cantonese-language films
Films directed by Johnnie To
Best Film HKFA
Milkyway Image films
China Star Entertainment Group films
Films set in Hong Kong
Films shot in Hong Kong
Films with screenplays by Yau Nai-hoi
2000s Hong Kong films