The symbolic reality is what's important. You can break all the rules you want, as long as you maintain the form of the ritual.

Finally got around to this.

Unlike other HK films about triads/mafia, ELECTION has no heroes or villains. It takes a look at the process and ramification of a 'democratic' election for a leader of a triad group. We see the two candidates trying to 'buy' votes so they can be elected by the 'uncles' (A process similar to how a HK leader is elected in real life), the cops are pragmatic, knowing it's impossible to arrest all the triad members, they just hope they can avoid war between the two candidates.

To is able to ramp up the tension and make us care about the story despite a lack of an empathetic character. As usual, there are some marvelous set pieces and I absolutely love the score for the movie. While I don't think To is saying anything profound/new about triads or the democratic process (Everyone wants power; screw loyalty and tradition, etc), it is a pretty darn entertaining film.

Fairly solid but not super exciting Hong Kong crime thriller, more political than action but satisfying on both ends. More of a character study than I was expecting from a Hong Kong gangster flick and am looking forward to watching the sequel. Nothing surprising or ground breaking, but still hit all my marks in what I look for in a crime film, and I'm picky about my crime movies. Plus the sound of Cantonese always makes me warm and fuzzy.

Slick, but not too slick. Constantly plays against audience expectations. A refreshing take on the HK gangster/action film.

An interesting and stylish look at Triad politics, 'Election' has very little exposition and is therefore initially confusing. However, lack of hand-holding is a good thing, and by the end the important players are well known. The last scene is a great one and sets expectations for the supposedly superior sequel.

Asian godfather movie

The rare film that gets stronger as it unfolds, revealing more and more about its characters right up to the last shot. To spends the first 10 minutes establishing the rules and tradition of the election, and spends the next 90 minutes watching everything fall apart. A triad film for our times: political bickering, loss of tradition, and the persistence of man’s primordial traits beneath our surface manners.

The symbolic reality is what's important. You can break all the rules you want, as long as you maintain the form of the ritual.

Finally got around to this.

Unlike other HK films about triads/mafia, ELECTION has no heroes or villains. It takes a look at the process and ramification of a 'democratic' election for a leader of a triad group. We see the two candidates trying to 'buy' votes so they can be elected by the 'uncles' (A process similar to how a HK leader is elected in real life), the cops are pragmatic, knowing it's impossible to arrest all the triad members, they just hope they can avoid war between the two candidates.

To is able to ramp up the tension and make us care about the story despite a lack of an empathetic character. As usual, there are some marvelous set pieces and I absolutely love the score for the movie. While I don't think To is saying anything profound/new about triads or the democratic process (Everyone wants power; screw loyalty and tradition, etc), it is a pretty darn entertaining film.

Imaginative, but a bit hard to follow.

Conflict structured and contrived around a MacGuffin that doesn't make much sense. Sure, it's all about the execution and the journey, but the gangster heavy stories of violence and betrayal didn't do much for me. It's well executed, above average and easy to watch, but I found it a bit of an existential exercise by the end. Also, maybe it was just me, but I found a lot of the scenes to be underlit.