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Bookmark this pageExiled (2006)
Director: Johnnie To
Movie review
From Time Out London
Although Hong Kong crime movies too often scream for credible characterisation to complement their gunplay, that wasn’t so with Johnnie To’s gangland saga ‘Election’. If anything, the combination of a strong storyline with an exuberant action-oriented approach makes ‘Exiled’ the more accessible point of entry to the work of a director who’s long excited both fanboys and the festival circuit. The opening announces what’s striking about To’s best work: careful pacing and a witty take on the familiar tropes of gunplay are highly evident, as two pairs of hitmen pitch up at a backstreet Macau apartment to await a renegade ex-colleague. Anomie erupts into a dazzling apartment shoot-out, before old loyalties win out. These veterans have been through the mill together, and as their Triad masters prepare to swoop on the Portuguese colony now passing into Chinese rule (it’s 1998), the hired guns decide it’s time to put their priorities first.Sam Peckinpah would surely recognise the way the killers’ code of honour sustains them in an ever more mercenary world, and with a Morricone-influenced score, To tips his hat to the westerns of yore. Sparse dialogue and taciturn charisma notwithstanding, this is no mere nostalgiafest, however, since To’s imaginative use of screen space and incisive cutting renders his bullet-sprayed highlights state of the art. It’s cool, thematically involving, knowing and sustained in its tension. Are you watching, Michael Mann?
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 1921: June 13-19 2007
Cast & crew
Director: Johnnie To
Producer: Johnnie To
Cast: Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Josie Ho full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Rated: 15
Duration: 100 mins
UK Release: Jun 15 2007
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