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.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.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.
- Awards
- 1 win & 14 nominations total
- Kun
- (as Lam Ka Tung)
- Mr. So
- (as Cheung Siu Fai)
- Uncle Teng
- (as Wong Tin Lam)
- Bo
- (as Mark Cheng Ho-nam)
- Uncle Cocky
- (as Tam Ping Man)
- Janice
- (as Pauline Pan)
- Mr. Shu
- (as Albert Cheung)
- Incense Master
- (as Yuen Bun)
- Denny
- (as Jonathan Lee)
- Chak
- (as Wong Sze Yan)
- Uncle Tank
- (as Tsui Chung Shun)
Featured reviews
The plot is somewhat unremarkable and predictable, but in this case its how the film is told that makes it stand apart. The underworld depicted by director Johnny To is populated by sullen, disaffected thugs in expensive suits, with no loyalties held sacred but to their insatiable greed. The isolation of these men, (and Louis Koo as Jimmy in particular), as they trade away the remaining scraps of their humanity is a chilling thing to behold. The lighting, music, and sparse sets all echo the overwhelming emptiness and dread radiated by these characters, excellently performed by an ensemble of talented actors. Characters carried over from the first film seem to have developed in the two year interim to Election 2, and have become much more realized than the rather thin caricatures of the original.
Johnny To also seems to have a better grasp of the subject; wisely opting for a more serious approach, he injects a political theme that elevates the material out of the typical power fantasy of gangster films. Although the film certainly has its share of violent scenes, they are a good deal less gory than the majority of "shock cinema" today, and somehow even more harrowing. One particularly chilling scene is almost completely silent, save the blood-freezing soundtrack's eerie drone. Presented in such icy fashion that it becomes savagely artistic, Election 2's violence will stay with you long after the credits run. Despite the fetishistic renditions of violence and Triad traditions, these power obsessed sociopaths are hardly glamorous; their quiet panic becoming palpable as the realization sets in that greed has condemned them all. It is a testament to the director's talent that even without a single likable character for the audience to root for; the film remains compelling right to the bitter end.
Election 2 is an uncompromising film; violent, serious, politically controversial, and spectacularly unsympathetic. It also depends in large part on the viewer having seen its prequel, a similar if inferior examination of the same subject and themes. It is also one of the most interesting crime dramas in some time. Special note must be given once again to the score, which raises the tension significantly, and gives it a unique flavor more akin to a horror movie than a gangster film. Johnny To has shaped a bleak monster out of the typical conventions of crime noir; it leaves the viewer with much food for thought on subjects many would find distasteful, but anyone with an interest in the shallow, ruthless underbelly of organized crime is recommended to give it a look.
"Election" had key moments apparently happening off camera so you could only deduce what was going on in the plot with super-human concentration. Not so in the sequel. You get the gist pretty easily, and pretty early on: Lok, the elected chairman from the first movie, is approaching the end of his tenure, but is considering breaking Triad tradition and extending his term. Meanwhile Jimmy is trying to set himself up as a legitimate businessman in China and move away from the Triad. He finds that government officials will only work with him if he takes the chair in his Triad.
So the stage is set for crosses, double-crosses and dealings with Triad "uncles" and cold-blooded subordinates.
"Triad Election", also known as "Election 2", is never less than engrossing and captivating. It's one of the best Triad films I've seen.
The characters who manage to survive to the first movie are now about to face a new election, which opposes this time Lok, who wants to be reelected and the young Jimmy, who's quite reluctant to become the new boos, but has to win the election, in order to become a traditional business man in two years. In this second movie, the characters have much more elaborated than in the first one, for they're acting in a tragedy play, with much more powerful actors than them.
Lok isn't the calm and self-control man he once was, he's now obsessed with power and greed. And Jimmy is the classical tragic Corleone character of a gangster movie, who wants to go straight, but only goes deeper and deeper in the evil world of the Triad.
As well as the characters, the political aspect of the movie is also well develops. If the first film mostly deals with ancestral Trial rituals, the second one brings a contemporary point of view on this, and lights the links between HK Triads and Chinese government, which really control them since 1997.
This movie is also more violent than the first, guns appear (whereas they were inexistent in "Election 1"), and a magisterially gore torture scene (with dog and human food...) greatly increase the emotional impact of the movie and underlines the abominations man is able to do in order to archive his need of power.
All this elements makes "Election 2" a entertaining and interesting movie, and elects Jhonny To as one of the most interesting filmmaker of Hong-Kong. But his very classical direction (the movie always looks like a classical 90's HK polar), and storyline (the story of Jimmy is very similar to the Michael Corleone one, with some Melvillle elements, and a soundtrack very similar to the one you can find in Corean Thrillers) makes him a lot less original, than directors like Wong Kar-Wai or Hark Tsui, who is always the godfather of HK cinema.
It's Election time again , and this time the lead candidates are Kun - the Baton retriever who served jail time for running over cop , and Jimmy - the leading money-maker in the Wo-Sing and Society Favorite ..
Jimmy doesn't want to run for prez , he wants to go clean as a businessman . But after getting busted in undercover sting, he's coerced by the head Inspector to become the new Chairman if he has any dreams of running business on his grounds .
Lok on the other hand , doesn't want to give up power either ,, and is plotting a second term which is against Society rules ... As the time ticks closer things get more and more antsy
9/10
Did you know
- TriviaThe 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.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- 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?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Johnnie Got His Gun! (2010)
- How long is Election 2?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $55,758
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,811
- Apr 29, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $1,836,534
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1