Triad Election (2006)
"Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai" (original title)

As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Yam) faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy (Koo) looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

Director:

Johnnie To

Writers:

Nai-Hoi Yau, Tin-Shing Yip,

Stars:

Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Louis Koo	...	Jimmy Lee
Simon Yam	...	Lam Lok
Nick Cheung	...	Jet
Ka Tung Lam	...	Kun (as Lam Ka Tung)
Suet Lam	...	Big Head (as Lam Suet)
Siu-Fai Cheung	...	Mr. So (as Cheung Siu Fai)
Tian-lin Wang	...	Uncle Teng Wai (as Wong Tin Lam)
Mark Cheng	...	Bo
Bing-Man Tam	...	Uncle Cocky (as Tam Ping Man)
Yue-Tong Pan	...	Janice (as Pauline Pan)
Andy On	...	Lik
Yong You	...	Black Ren / Chinese Security Bureau Chief (as Yao Yung)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brenda Chan	...	(as Kwai-fan Chan)
Siu Kai Chan	...	Brother Kin (as Chan Siu Kai)
Siu-Pang Chan	...	Uncle Monk

Storyline

As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Yam) faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy (Koo) looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

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Taglines:

Even a criminal can serve his country

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

27 April 2006 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Triad Election

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$12,696 (USA) (27 April 2007)

Gross:

$54,855 (USA) (3 August 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

China Star Entertainment, One Hundred Years of Film Company, Milky Way Image Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shown Out of Competition (midnight screening) at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. The film was shown in Grand Theatre Lumiere, the most prestigious theater at Cannes.

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Goofs

When Jet is attacking Long Hair from behind with a machete, he slices his neck but there is no blood on the blade, and Long Hair is not bleeding out from his wound.

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Quotes

Mr. Shi: From now on, you're welcome in China as tourists. But you can't do business here.
Jimmy: Why?
Mr. Shi: It's our policy.
Jimmy: Mr. Shu is also a gangster. Why can he do business in China?
Mr. Shi: We made a deal, and he's a patriot.
Jimmy: I can make you a deal. I can be a patriot.
Mr. Shi: What's your rank in Wo Sing? Not its Chairman?
Jimmy: If I run for Chairman, will you give me what I want?

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Connections

Follows Election (2005)

User Reviews

HK Neo Reviews: Election 2

Spooky? Funny? Yeah!

In 2006 HK Cinema, few movies warrant a second viewing, but clearly Election 2 is one that improves in its 2nd running. Johnny To is a versatile director and needless to say, whatever tension that is lacking in its sequel, Johnny makes up for it with twice the brutality and further destruction of those in power. While the first film emphasis on one struggle for power and its ability to corrupt even the most ingenious of humanity, the second one further this notion, that the only way to secure power is through eliminating all its challengers. Perhaps Bush is right - "you are either with us or against us" as this notion is never proved so strongly correct. Needless to say, Election 2 is already fast becoming of the finest work from the little territory this year.

One of the most memorable yet shocking scenes is without doubt the chopping sequence of arms, legs and body parts of a living person and then churning it out into dog food. Fear is a factor that allows those in power to control the masses. It is at that moment that Louis Koo becomes a greater evil than Simon Yam. His goal is money, not triad power and glory. The saying goes: "money is the root of all evil" and at that moment, Koo have metamorphoses into a wild animal – crazy and no longer human. It is crazy to imagine what one can do for money as Koo's silent assassin screams out: "Add money" repetitively even the moment before he die, is both humorous yet bitterly ironic. In dicing a human into dog food, Johnny alludes to 90s' human pork chop movies and most notably – The Untold Story starring Anthony Wong. Luckily, Election 2 does not exactly show the vivid scene in full detail, or else it will probably break even the most carefree of censorship boards.

Like in the first film, the only way to survive in the dark underworld is to remain in power, as the Chinese saying goes: "one mountain can not shelter two tigers." Unlike the 1st film, Simon Yam takes a back seat, despite showing some quite credible acting chops. His expression upon kicking the old man down the stairs is calculatingly evil and so is the memorable expression as he holds on to the leader baton, with the type of grin hiding behind an ambitious smile. He is ultimately ambitious, yet an extremely flawed character. Louis Koo takes on the leading role, this time around in full force and perhaps one of his finest performances in years since Bullet Over Summer. His aim for business and money is noteworthy and the ambition hidden within the scene where he chops up arms and legs is equally startling to watch. A much underrated actor deserves to appear in more material like this. Other appears here and there and Lam Suet is once again funny in a cameo role. As usual Nick Cheung is fast becoming one of the coolest actors in HK cinema.

Following Neo's statements above of this being 2006's finest work isn't really an understatement, despite the poor quality of productions in most HK films. To have been able to embark a sequel that matches the original is alone a heck of an achievement. It is a beautiful piece of work and along with the ironic trademark finale, Johnny is back on the circuit. With many more productions ahead, one can only expect heaps better stuff to be made. Yes, to be perfectly honest, it is disgusting, but at the same time, it is really good to endure. (Neo 2006)

I rate it 9/10.

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