''Election'' (; literal title: ''Black Society'', a common Cantonese reference to the

triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...

s), is a 2005 Hong Kong

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combi ...

directed by Johnnie To. Featuring a large

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

, the film stars Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-fai as two gang leaders engaged in a power struggle to become the new leader of a Hong Kong

. The film premiered as an "Official Selection" at the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgian film '' L'Enfant'' by Dardenne brothers. ...

, before being released in Hong Kong on 20 October 2005, with a Category III rating. A

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

, '' Election 2'' (also known as ''Triad Election'' in the United States), was released in 2006. Hilary Hongjin He, a doctoral student at the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

, stated that compared to its sequel, this film is "less political or suspicious" from a

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

standpoint.

Plot

In Hong Kong, the triad Wo Lin Shing is in the process of electing its new chairman as the previous chairman's five-year term is expiring. The two leading contenders, Lok and Big D, are doing some last-minute "campaigning" days before the election. Lok is calm, patient and even-tempered, while Big D, who attempts to buy the election, is boisterous, impatient and quick-tempered. After some quarrelling among both candidates' supporters, Lok is elected the new chairman. Big D, dismayed by the result, punishes two men responsible for his loss by kidnapping them and rolling them down a hill in wooden boxes. Whistle, the ex-chairman, instructs his lieutenant Four-Eyes to hide the dragonhead baton, a symbol of the chairman's authority. The police, under Chief Superintendent Hui's leadership, step in to prevent infighting and maintain the peace by arresting the triad's key figures, including Big D and Lok. During an attempt at peace negotiation, Big D threatens to break away from Wo Lin Shing and form a new triad. As the triad's culture emphasises brotherhood and unity, Big D's action would be unacceptable and could lead to violence, which both the triad key figures and the police wish to avoid. In the meantime, both Lok and Big D's supporters have sent their henchmen to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

to retrieve the baton. Jimmy wants to take matters into his own hands since Big D severely injured his uncle Long Gun. After some intercepting and fighting between both sides, Jimmy acquires the baton and ends up giving it to Lok since Lok convinces him it will be good for the society. Big D is released on bail after it is paid by Lok. Lok, using the baton, secures his position as the triad's new chairman and proposes a truce to end the conflict. Big D accepts on the condition that they will take over the

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Ts ...

area together, and that he will succeed Lok as chairman after two years. Lok and Big D successfully take over Tsim Sha Tsui, but Big D still desires to be chairman so he proposes to Lok that they share the chairmanship. Lok sees this as a challenge to his authority, so he murders Big D and his wife during a fishing trip, with his son Denny seeing him kill Big D.

Cast

* Simon Yam as Lok * Tony Leung Ka-fai as Big D * Louis Koo as Jimmy *

Nick Cheung Nick Cheung Ka-fai (; born 2 December 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and director. Background He was formerly a Royal Hong Kong Police officer for four years, but he left the job after his request to be transferred to the criminal investiga ...

as Jet *

Cheung Siu-fai Cheung Siu-fai (; born 4 February 1963), also known as Eddie Cheung, is a Hong Kong actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre ...

as So *

Lam Suet Lam Suet (; born 1964), or Lin Xue, is a Hong Kong film actor. Life and career Lam was born in Tianjin, and came to Hong Kong as a youth in 1979 to receive inheritance money left by his grandfather. Soon after, all the money had been squander ...

as Big-Head * Gordon Lam as Kun *

Wong Tin-lam Wong Tin-Lam (1927–2010) was a Chinese screenwriter, producer, director, and actor, who has contributed to the Hong Kong cinema scene with a career spanning six decades. He has made films in Cantonese, Mandarin and Amoy dialect. Career Wong ...

as Uncle Teng * Maggie Shiu as Big D's wife * David Chiang as Chief Superintendent Hui *

Berg Ng Berg Ng Ting-yip (born 12 December 1960) is a Hong Kong actor. He is best known for his role as Inspector Cheung in the 2002 crime thriller film '' Infernal Affairs''. Filmography Television * ''The Undercover Agents'' (1984) * ''101 Citizen ...

as Senior Inspector Tad * Raymond Wong as Detective Wong *

You Yong You Yong (born 13 December 1963) is a Chinese actor. He enrolled in the Xi'an Drama School (西安话剧院) in 1979 and joined the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1984. Upon graduation in 1988, he acted in his first film, ''Obsession''. He is best ...

as Assistant Police Chief Shi * Law Wing-cheong as Four-Eyes * Kwok Fung as Fish-Head

Development

According to To, he had no intention of making a version of this film for Mainland China. The production company made an altered version anyway, titled ''Longcheng Suiyue'' (). According to Hilary He, this version has "ten major cuts or changes". An undercover law enforcement agent is added in this version, while the scene revealing that a mafia member was being used by the PRC Central Government as a mole was omitted. One scene erases a mention of the Birth tourism in Hong Kong, where Mainland Chinese parents give birth in Hong Kong so their children become

Hong Kong permanent residents The Hong Kong Basic Law classifies residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region () as either permanent residents or non-permanent residents. Hong Kong residents have rights under the Basic Law including freedom of speech, freedom o ...

. In this version all of the criminals face arrest and there is a scene where elders give lessons to youth about avoiding the mafia.

Release

Box office

At the end of its box-office run in Hong Kong, ''Election'' grossed about HK$15.59 million, which is considered to be quite high for a film that received a Category III rating (18+ restriction) in Hong Kong.

Reception

'' The A.V. Club'''s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky writes, " ohnnieTo’s saga makes plain that self-interest, far more than traditional ideas about honor, defines contemporary crooks. While that’s hardly an astonishing revelation, the writer-director deftly generates suspense (as well as sly comedy) from a mood of all-consuming untrustworthiness. ..Thrilling and amusing in equally dark measure, it’s an incisive portrait of a dysfunctional family-style organization struggling to update its sordid operation in an age of unchecked capitalist greed."

Distribution

''Election'' was sold to more than 21 territories, including Optimum Releasing for the United Kingdom, ARP Sélection for France and Hopscotch Films for Australia, after screening at the

in competition. Tartan Films has acquired all United States rights to this movie as of May 2006.

Awards and nominations

The movie is notable in being nominated for 14

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is u ...

in Hong Kong cinema. The film was named Best Film of 2005 in the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, with To also clinching Best Director honours for the movie.

References

External links

''Election''
a
LoveHKFilm.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Election (2005 Film) 2005 films 2000s crime films Hong Kong crime films Triad films 2000s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Johnnie To Best Film HKFA Milkyway Image films China Star Entertainment Group films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films with screenplays by Yau Nai-hoi 2000s Hong Kong films