Guerra às Drogas

I have to confess here in Canada I have no previous exposure to films by Hong Kong directors Johnnie To. Obviously he has done good work before but I just did not have the chance to see them. 'Drug War' was shown in a local art-house cinema and my like-minded friend alerted me to it.

Well, this was an interesting film experience - a Hong Kong director doing a police/drug dealer drama based in mainland China. Although other fictitious names were used for the cities, it is obvious the final, major shootout took place in a main street in Tianjin, a large city not far from Beijing. And much has been said about the long, protracted shoot-out scene toward the end, done in the John-Woo-ish manner.

I do not know if the version shown in mainland China - apparently the film did well in the box office there - is the same version that I saw in Canada. However, I suspected the China version has to be slightly edited. Still, (Spoiler Alert!) Johnnie To managed to get a film approved for the Chinese audience despite breaking one important rules: four desperadoes gunning down a large number of police officers, male and female. Now this used to be a big no-no in China. The police had to come up on top and the bad guys punished. The mass killing of cops was never presented to any screen in Chinese cinema. And then there is the lesser scene of RMB (Chinese currency) bills being burnt in place of 'ghost money' to honour the dead. Now this may just be part of drama but one can also argue about its possible political significance.

All in all, for a cops-against-bad-guys film this is well directed, with action scenes well staged and the cops and criminals well portrayed. There are also finer moments exploring humanity - e.g. a drug dealer's wife, fatally shot, still struggled to put her high-heel boots back on while dodging bullets. The ending is a tad depressing but is mostly likely closer to reality.

Johnnie To seems to be one of the most adept directors working in Hong Kong today; in the recent fifteen years or so he's built for himself an impressive body of work, concentrating almost solely in the thriller genre. His films usually involve cops or gangsters, all of them equally tough, and his detailed plots inevitably involve lots of death, betrayal, and bloodshed.

DRUG WAR is no different; it's the third To film I've seen, and by far the best. This is a pulse-pounding thriller that moves exceptionally fast, requiring the viewer to pay close attention throughout in order to keep up with everything that transpires. To's requirement above all else is for ultra-realism, making this a low key and often subtle piece of filmmaking, and an exemplary example for Hollywood directors keen to make their wham-bang thrillers.

Louis Koo headlines the cast in an intriguing role as a leading drug dealer who's caught by the police and forced to help them bring down some even greater criminals. What this leads to is a unique and fresh-feeling storyline, one that's hard to predict throughout, with the emphasis almost entirely on suspense sequences. Most of the action is limited to the climax, which stages a tense shoot-out on an even more epic scale than the one in HEAT. It's great stuff indeed and the perfect end to a great thriller.

Gripping, smart, and a joy to watch.

The acting is excellent and the main leads are my favorite. Honglei, a hardened narcotic cop, is collected, methodological, and intelligent. You can tell he has earned his keep and has seen some crazy things behind those eyes. He's like the calm before the storm, readily break loose. He leads a high profiled operation to bust possibly the largest drug ring in the counntry and his lead is Louis, a captured meth supplier. Louis is not to be outshone: calculated, cunning, and above all, selfish. I find his character to be easily one of the greatest villains for he appears harmless but you can't really know what he has in mind. One scene you might think he has repented, another scene he might convince you otherwise. He is a great villain because he's deceptive, cunning, selfish, and he's willing to do anything for survival, including turning against his own kin but the catch is that he doesn't look capable of such evil. That's why he's great. Appearance is deceiving. The two main leads are completely opposite. The cop appears cold, distanced, and seemingly emotionless yet pursues a good cause and cares for his underlings while the crook appears warmer, more expressive, seemingly harmless yet inhuman underneath. Great contrast. The story is tight, the actions are neat - the shootout between the mute brothers and the cops and the grand finale scene are superb. A battle of both brain and brawn.

After his meth lab explodes, leaving him scarred and his wife dead, Timmy Choi (Louis Koo) is apprehended by the Chinese police for a crime that warrants the death penalty. In the custody of Captain Zhang (Sun Honglei), Choi sees only one option to avoid execution; turn traitor and help Zhang's undercover unit bring down the powerful cartel that he has been cooking for. As the stakes get higher, it becomes increasing unclear as to who has the upper hand, and who will dictate the endgame.

Director Johnny To is a master of the crime film, and with "Drug War," he's created a near masterpiece of the genre. He never convinces us of being in anything but complete control of his multifaceted thriller, and exudes an unparallelled confidence in every scene and phenomenal set piece.

To's electrifying picture recalls some of the best work of his great contemporaries. "Drug War" possesses the technical brilliance of Scorsese's "The Departed," the ground-level knowledge and surveillance of David Simon's "The Wire," the gritty realism of Michael Mann's best work, and by the end the blistering, double-fisted action of John Woo's prime. These elements don't come together as a derivative; To is a filmmaker at the top of his game, and makes the most of his cast, his influences, the Mainland setting, and a little of the grotesquerie that often has Hollywood shuddering; in a singular whole.

Disparate from most Hong Kong action films, "Drug War" is a methodical, meticulous procedural first, exploiting a street-smart screenplay that knows the Chinese crime scene; and if that statement is indeed false, it never feels less than authentic. Much of the intensity derives from dialogue exchanges, and how rigorous both the cops and criminals try to not get made. Because of this well paced, equally well played dynamic, we never know who we should root for, and that's exactly the point. Mr. To's drama is incredibly intense... but then he pulls out all the stops.

The last 20 minutes of "Drug War" is the show-stopping action set piece of the year. An extended shootout that's brutal, ambitious, and a masterpiece of it's kind. It's a marvel of physical filmmaking that also works as an unexpected plot device, violently flipping our conceived notions of these characters on their ear; clearing the way for a fittingly ironic, ice-cold conclusion.

"Drug War" might just be the best pure crime film of 2013. Technically and narratively stellar, it already seems like a minor classic of the genre.

So which side is our man on? That's the question in this drug mafia movie where the police have found a way to take down a major drug crew, but have to use one of their key arrests to help them. However, who is he playing for and with? This is a clever and ambitious little movie. Well directed and acted, this film takes influence from others in the genre (such as The Wire) but maps out its own story, and it's really interesting.

The Far East has a rich history of mafia movies, and this isn't amongst the classics, but that doesn't devalue it. It still is a fine film, with good directing and acting. Some interesting characters too.

Very much worth watching.