Customer Rating:  
Summary: Behaviors occurring behind the scenes in the modern world
Comment: ELECTION (Hak Se Wui, 1995) starring Simon Yam (reprising his role as
a triad godfather as seen in CASINO 1997 by Billy Tang, for ex§) is a
movie intended for fans of this genre, underlying the testosterone,
discipline and ancient traditions aspects of masculinity.
Either the script's writer had a bad nightmare on which this movie
was constructed, or the writer simply decided to show a very limited,
narrow range of what comprises humanity, and understanding the latter
either poorly, or not heving been exposed to very much of it, in
reality.
The aforementioned aspects seems to eat away at the classy aspects
that a picture craves, this film suffering also from the homicidal
behavior that the movie shows at the 90 min mark.
The strong point of this picture, is a story centering on the
election of a triad successor, which the audience will recognize as
similar to modern politics. Any strategy is good, to get to the top
...payoffs to electors preparing to cast their votes to win their
favor, maneuvering, violence, kidnappings, brutality, financial
enticements all the while, with a law enforcement presence that
delays, complicates and hinders the entire underground electoral
process.
Key street-level bosses are called in a meeting, to vote for one
candidate or another, raising their hand to signal their approval.
Interestingly, the defeated candidates don't abandon victory so soon
or easily, fully conscious that it's fully possible to gain the upper
hand and coerce opponents with some effort and skill, from their
genetic make-ups as triad leaders having climbed to the top, to the
point of being candidates for the top dog position.
The film is no-nonsense, preferring to show only professional
dealings vs. a wide spectrum of emotions, such as humor, sex,
drinking, amusement or other lighter sides of things, which is
unrealistic, in terms of accepting the proposition overall in terms
of both private and public lives that make up these trial people.
An aspect underlined is loyalty, an oath taken by soldiers in the
triad, to the point that, a member is made to break his porcelain
spoon, crack it and eat it on the orders of his boss, without
questioning, much as military soldiers are trained to do, in a
pavlovian reaction. Other instances show the ruthlessness and
willingness to die openly admitted by members, in favor of their
gang, their minds stamped with the triad's codified rules of conduct,
as a brotherhood, with and loyalty standing above everything else.
Cash generating activities are referenced, such as drugs, gambling,
black market reselling of tainted chickens and commodities, etc.
The filming is very good, with a pleasing high-quality widescreen,
showing Hong Kong, mostly in closed meetings, versus open air,
outdoor locations, from which the movie somewhat suffers, coupled
with a decision to create suspense and tension over 1 hour over the
pursuit of a dragon baton symbol.
A sarcastic criticism of the law, is made, when a top law officer is
presented, and openly admits having reached the top of the echelon by
having agreed early in his career to infiltrate a gang, betray their
trust, later busting them with incriminating evidence, suggesting
dishonorable conduct among that law officers, and that they, the
triad members, are the true honorable men, self-righteous as they
are.
The difficulty in controlling 50,000 to 300,000 men, all belonging to
underground triad organizations is understood by these, which limits
the range of crackdowns they can carry out.
A clear decision was made to limit action scenes in the movie, and to
limit the presence of guns and bullets almost entirely, which eats
away at the entertainment aspects of the movie, too.
Overall, in addition to the above aspects, ELECTION will interest
those viewers who tend to believe there is more than what meets in
the eye, in terms of cash flows, businesses, commerce, and political
icons in the modern world.
There are behaviors occurring behind the scenes, secret
organizations, not unlike Freemasonry for example. Also those who are
at the top, much like the boss in any corporation, only with much
difficulty will relinquish his position. More likely, they are
ever-vigilant of any new competitor arriving to whom the godfather
position in the triad, consciously, or unconsciously, appeals to
them, and will take them out if needed, promptly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How far are they willing to go?
Comment: "Election" directed by Johnnie To, is an engaging action thriller that manages to entertain the spectator, but that might scare some people due to numerous scenes of violence.
The two main characters are Lok (Simon Yam) and Big D (Tony Leung), the two main candidates to become the new chairman of one of Hong Kong's most importants triads, the Wo Shing Society. The senior members of the The Wo Shing Society have the power to choose the next president, and will do so in a triad-run election. But how far is each of these candidates willing to go in order to have absolute power? And where do tradition, loyalty and duty stand in modern times?
These questions, and some more, will be answered if you give "Election" a chance. This is the first movie I watch by this Hong Kong director, and I liked it well enough to know I will try to find out more about his work. From my point of view, this film is not perfect (3.5 stars out of 5), but it original, and well-worth seeing, if you can stand the sometimes shocking violence. If that is the case, recommended...
Belen Alcat
Customer Rating:
Summary: Election
Comment: The time has come, as it does every two years, for the senior members of Hong Kong's oldest Triad, The Wo Shing Society, to elect a new chairman. Fierce rivalries emerge between the two eligible candidates, Lok, respected by the Uncles is the favourite to win. But his rival Big D will stop at nothing to change this, including going against hundreds of years of Triad tradition and influencing the vote with money and violence.
When Wo Shing's ancient symbol of leadership, the Dragon's Head Baton, goes missing, a ruthless struggle for power erupts and the race to retrieve the Baton threatens to tear Won Shing in two.
Can Wo Shing balance their traditional brotherhood ways with the cut-throat modern world of 21st century business?
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