Screenhead

Released this week on DVD on the Tartan Asia Extreme label is Johnny To’s film Triad Election, also known as Election II. Even those who may not have seen the first Election film should enjoy this look at Hong Kong gangsters. Unlike Exiled, To’s newest film to get theatrical release in the U.S., while the subject matter is familiar, the way it is handled is a marked departure. While several of To’s films have been marked by an extremely flamboyant visual style, Triad Election seems to go out of its way to be very understated.

The story is primarily about Jimmy Lee, a triad associate who has risen in the ranks, starting from selling pirated porn DVDs to heading construction projects where the various permits needed are approved in days rather than years. With the two year term of current Triad head Lok coming to an end, Jimmy is encouraged to run by one of the “uncles”, an older, retired gangster. Jimmy thinks of himself as a businessman, but eventually is persuaded to make his interest known in being elected. Not only does Jimmy have a rival in a hitman, Jet, but Lok decides to run for another term. What follows are several scenes of violence as a result of the rivalries.

Most chilling is a scene when Jimmy kidnaps several members of Lok’s gang. They are placed in small jail cells, each man chained to a German shepherd with very large teeth. In spite of blows with a sledge hammer, two of the men cannot be persuaded to kill Lok. It is only after one of Lok’s men is turned into dog food that the rest of the gang decides to support Jimmy. It is in this scene that Jimmy is revealed to be as vicious as the people he claims he wants to distance himself from. Almost as chilling is the end of the film which reveals that even victory can come with a price.

The soundtrack consists mostly of a solo guitar and percussion. The effect is to decrease the melodramatic quality of the violence, but also it is a way of making the viewer consider more thoughtfully what is happening on the screen. For those more familiar with the Hong Kong gangster films of John Woo or Tsui Hark or even some of Johnny To’s other films, Triad Election is a very carefully modulated film that doesn’t try to dazzle the viewer with stylistic tricks. Triad Election may not be the crowd pleaser that Exiled is, but it is very dark and disturbing, and very much worth seeing.

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