Johnnie To's Election 1 and 2

After finally getting a chance to see Election 2 I think these two films, when viewed as a singular product, are my 2nd favourite Johnnie To films.

I saw Election 1 sometime last year and whilst I loved the style of the film and Simon Yam's calculating central performance it felt like too much had been cut at times. It feels like a far grander movie which has been brutally streamlined and it really does a lot of damage if viewed as a single entity.

Election 2 which is set two years after the first film manages to shed light on a lot of the thematic stuff I felt was missing. Election 1 is a film very much about people being bound by tradition and trying to work within them, whereas Election 2 is about the loss of control that comes about from not adhering to those rules.

What surprised me about Election 2 is how ridiculously violent it is compared to number 1. The first film has a pretty nasty knife feet and some moments of abject cruelty, but the violence in Election 2 is at another level. One scene involving a sledgehammer, meat cleaver, meat mincer and a pack of hungry dogs is easily one of the most horrifying things I've seen.

What makes it worse is the fact that Jimmy himself comes up with the dog feeding bit. My view was that his legitimate business was his only real aim and the gangster side was a means to an end and as such he allowed himself to become truly vicious to get what he wanted because the gangster part of him wasn't the 'real' Jimmy. Which would explain his sudden breakdown when he realises he's going to be in power for a long, long time.

I do like the fact the films end with the Chinese Government destroying a democratic process and setting up a dynasty.