Film Reviews - Sunday, April 6, 2008 5:09 - 0 Comments

Election (2005)

Director: Johnnie To

Starring: Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Louis Koo,

Featuring: Nick Cheung, Lam Suet, Gordon Lam

“Election,” the first installment in Johnnie To’s two-film Hong Kong gangland serial, is a densely plotted, pulpy procedural with a familiar enough premise. The power struggles and succession battles that plague organized crime are a staple of American popular culture — what else have we been watching on “The Sopranos” for the past eight years? — but Mr. To’s Hong Kong mobsters conduct their business a bit differently, on democratic rather than dynastic principles.

Every two years the “uncles,” senior members of the Wo Shing Society, the oldest triad in Hong Kong, elect an up-and-coming younger boss as their chairman. Big D (Tony Leung Ka-fai) is a strutting, flamboyant hothead, ordering a flashy bespoke suit and booking a banquet hall in anticipation of his victory. To ensure victory, Big D not only throws money at the uncles and their underlings, but also stuffs two of the uncles into wooden crates and rolls them down a steep hill until they pledge their support.

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