Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai (2006)

Director:

Johnnie To

Writers:

Nai-Hoi Yau (written by) and
Tin-Shing Yip (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

27 April 2006 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Even a criminal can serve his country

Plot:

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 & 5 nominations

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
Ping-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
Yung Cheung Chan		(as Chan Yung Cheung)
Chi Ping Cheung	...	Uncle Dead Dog (as Cheung Chi Ping)
Mo-Hau Cheung	...	Mr. Shu (as Albert Cheung)
Alan Chui Chung San	...	Uncle Tank (as Tsui Chung Shun)
Man Kit Fan	...	Lok's henchman (as Fan Man Kit)
Ching Ting Law	...	Jimmy's driver (as Lu Ching Ting)
Keung Law	...	Brother Snake (as Law Keung)
Jonathan Lee	...	Denny Lam
Fa Yuan Li	...	Lok's henchman (as Lee Fat Yuen)
Chun Pong Ling		(as Ling Chun Pong)
Shing Lun Mok		(as Mok Shing Lun)
Sin San	...	Uncle Long Gun (as Yuen-Yin Yu)
Chiu Chi Shing	...	Long Hair (as Chiu Chi Shing)
Pui Chung Tong	...	Uncle Chiu Chow (as Tong Pui Chung)
Sze Yan Wong	...	Chak (as Wong Sze Yan)
Bun Yuen	...	Incense Master (as Yuen Bun)
Jianjun Zhou	...	Section Chief Ho (as Zhou Jian Jun)

Directed by
Johnnie To

Writing credits
Nai-Hoi Yau		(written by) (as Yau Nai Hoi) and
Tin-Shing Yip		(written by) (as Yip Tin Shing)
Nai-Hoi Yau		(characters) uncredited &
Tin-Shing Yip		(characters) uncredited

Produced by
Catherine Chan	....	production executive
Tiffany Chen	....	administrative producer
Elos Gallo	....	consultant producer
Charles Heung	....	executive producer
Kok Leung Kuk	....	line producer (as Kuk Kok Leung)
Dennis Law	....	executive producer
Dennis Law	....	producer
Johnnie To	....	producer

Original Music by
Robert Ellis-Geiger

Cinematography by
Siu-keung Cheng		(director of photography) (as Cheng Siu Keung)

Film Editing by
Ka-kit Cheung		(as Jeff Cheung)
Wing-cheong Law		(as Law Wing Cheong)

Art Direction by
Tony Yu

Costume Design by
Stanley Cheung

Makeup Department
Kit Ling Chan	....	on-set dresser (as Chan Kit Ling)
Miko Chu	....	makeup artist (as Midco Chu)
Rachel Kong	....	hair stylist
Joe Kwong	....	hair stylist
Yun-Ling Man	....	makeup artist (as Man Yuen Ling)

Production Management
Elaine Chu	....	project manager
Yuin Shan Ding	....	production supervisor (as Ding Yuin Shan)
Jackson Ha	....	production manager
Chiu Chi Shing	....	unit manager (as Chiu Chi Shing)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wai Hung Chan	....	assistant director (as Chan Wai Hung)
Ka-kit Cheung	....	assistant director (as Jeff Cheung)
Wing-cheong Law	....	associate director (as Law Wing Cheong)

Art Department
Wing Kei Au	....	property master (as Au Wing Kei)
Kin Wah Ko	....	property master (as Ko Kin Wah)
Brian Lau	....	assistant art director
Kwok On Lau	....	property master (as Lau Kwok On)

Sound Department
Tony Cheng	....	location sound
Sin-kwok Lee	....	location sound (as Lee Sin Kwok)
Charlie Lo	....	sound designer
Charlie Lo	....	sound editor
May Mok	....	sound designer
May Mok	....	sound mixer
Man Keung Ngai	....	boom operator (as Ngai Man Keung)
Chun Ming Wong	....	boom operator (as Wong Chun Ming)
Tomy Yu	....	foley artist (as Tommy Yu)

Visual Effects by
Pak Chung Kwan	....	CGI animator (as Kwan Pak Chung)
Peony Lam	....	visual effects coordinator
Siu Lun Leung	....	CGI animator (as Leung Siu Lun)
Stephen Ma	....	visual effects supervisor
Lai Kuen Wong	....	optical effects coordinator (as Wong Lai Kuen)

Stunts
Chun Pong Ling	....	stunt coordinator (as Ling Chun Pong)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tsz Pun Ko	....	making-of camera (as Ko Tsz Pun)
Ting Fung Kwong	....	best boy (as Kwong Ting Fong)
Hirotake Okazaki	....	still photographer
Hung Mo To	....	cinematographer: second unit (as To Hung Mo)
Kwok Chiu Wu	....	gaffer (as Wu Kwok Chiu)

Editorial Department
Simon Fung	....	assistant editor
Cathy Lau	....	post-production assistant
Calmen Lui	....	post-production executive

Other crew
Hiu Tao An	....	dubbing coach: Mandarin (as An Hiu Tao)
Ching Ting Law	....	set runner (as Lu Ching Ting)
Wing-cheong Law	....	associate director
Andy Ma	....	continuity
Po Sang Sie	....	story consultant (as Sie Po Sang)

Thanks
Tayu Lo	....	special thanks (as Lo Tayu)

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• China Star Entertainment (2006) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• ARP Sélection (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Avalon Productions (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Eng Wah Cinema (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Long Shong Entertainment Multimedia Company (2006) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Celluloid Dreams (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• China Star Worldwide Distribution (2006) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2006) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• China Star Production Services Limited  post-production facilities
• Brilliant Genesis Limited  cgi animation
• Milky Way Image Company  post-production sound studio
• Showreel Film Facilities  post-production sound studio
• i Zone Sound Design  foley design
• Milky Way Image Company  camera and lighting equipment
• Cinerent  camera and lighting equipment
• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film stock
• Shaw Brothers  laboratory
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles

Also Known As:

Election 2 (International: English title) (UK)
Black Society 2: Triads Value Peace Most (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)
Election II (International: English title)
Election: Volume 2 (UK) (DVD title)
Harmony Is a Virtue (International: English title)
Triad Election (USA)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | France:-12 | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated | UK:18

Company:

China Star Entertainment

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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.

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?

Movie Connections:

Follows Hak se wui (2005)

Johnny To, the Godfather of Hong-Kong ?

It's always nice to fallow the evolution of some characters through the years from films to films. You have the impression to see old friends again after a long separation. But in the triad world of "Election 2", this friends are rather bad and dangerous, and the two years that separate this second opus from the first haven't really improve, nor their friendship, nor the situation. If the first "Election" already was a death fight in order to elect the boss of a important HK triad, this one, setting two years after, is more a complete blood bath, where the most barbarian acts are tolerated. The old triad traditions, that manage to contain the savagery of the characters in the first movie, don't belong to the modern world anymore, for the opening of the Chinese market to the Triads in 1997 completely changes its face.

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.