Hong Kong Nocturne: The Films of Johnnie To

5/29/08 to 6/27/08

“One of the greatest action directors working in the world . . . (Johnnie) To has built a dazzling brilliant career out of cinematic mayhem” (N.Y. Times). This series samples the gritty gangster sagas, like Election, that have gained To international notoriety, as well as his over-the-top fantasies that unchain genre filmmaking from the tethers of reality.

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Exiled, June 21

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Past Films

Mad Detective
- Friday, June 27 8:40 pm
Lau Ching-wan is a cop who can sense the paranormal in a “wild, hilarious, and thoroughly disturbing entertainment.”-Vancouver Film Festival
Exiled
- Saturday, June 21 8:45 pm
Nattily attired hitmen square off in scenic Macao in this “enjoyable action thriller with a bracing touch of political satire.”-Manchester Guardian
Election
- Wednesday, June 18 6:30 pm
Two gangsters campaign (and kill) to win a triad election in this gunless thriller with “a Shakespearean hue, and a rich political and moral subtext.”-N.Y. Times
Triad Election
- Wednesday, June 18 8:30 pm
An over-educated, money-obsessed hoodlum gets sucked into triad (and governmental) deceits in this Darwinian-capitalist satire and “exemplary gangster thriller.”-N.Y. Times
Breaking News
- Thursday, June 12 7:00 pm
A police-versus-gunmen showdown turns into media warfare in this Cannes-selected thriller, a Dog Day Afternoon on the streets of Hong Kong.
Throw Down
- Wednesday, June 11 7:30 pm
Aaron Kwon seeks judo guidance from ex-champion, now-drunkard Louis Koo in To's sweet-natured remake of Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata. “The absolute best neo-samurai judo farce in town.”-Village Voice
Running on Karma
- Wednesday, June 4 7:30 pm
Andy Lau is a Buddhist monk turned male stripper who can see past lives and predict the future in To's crazed superhero genre mash-up. Like Spider-Man rewritten by the Dalai Lama.
The Mission
- Thursday, May 29 6:30 pm
Five gunmen must unite to keep a triad boss alive. A neon-lit tribute to Hawks, Mann, and Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.
Fulltime Killer
- Thursday, May 29 8:15 pm
Two killers battle for supremacy in this comic-book montage of film tributes and pulp-novel conceits that makes Tarantino look like Bresson.

Hong Kong Nocturne: The Films of Johnnie To

5/29/08 to 6/27/08

“One of the greatest action directors working in the world . . . (Johnnie) To has built a dazzling brilliant career out of cinematic mayhem.”-Manohla Dargis, New York Times

If there's one name that has kept Hong Kong cinema alive from its post-handover hangover to today, it's Johnnie To. From motormouthed comedies to romantic melodramas, gangster shoot-em-ups to bizarre fantasies, To has made nearly fifty films in his illustrious career, often at a rate of three or four a year. If this were the sixties, Cahiers du cinéma would have put his name up there with Hawks, Mann, or Walsh; he's living proof that the best genre films are now made in Hong Kong.

“One of the greatest action directors working in the world . . . (Johnnie) To has built a dazzling brilliant career out of cinematic mayhem.”-Manohla Dargis, New York Times

This small sampling of To's work concentrates on his post-1997 films, created after forming his own production company, Milkyway Image, which gave him the freedom and economic security to mix commercial works with more out-there experiments. Hollywood noirs reimagined in nocturnal, neon-lit, mega-capitalist Hong Kong, gritty gangster films like The Mission and Election boast a self-assured command of machismo and male bonding, a wry sense of humor, and a steady, deadpan cast that could out-macho Robert Mitchum. Also featured are a few of To's over-the-top cinema fantasies like Fulltime Killer and Running on Karma (codirected by Wai Ka-fai), works that unchain genre filmmaking from the tethers of reality and showcase a talent willing not just to tweak the rules, but to break them entirely.

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Series curated by Kathy Geritz and Jason Sanders.

PFA wishes to thank the following individuals and institutions for their assistance with this series: Barbara Scharres, Gene Siskel Film Center; Isa Cucinotta, Film Society of Lincoln Center; David Bordwell; Ryan Werner, IFC Films; Neal Bloch, Magnolia Pictures; Shan Ding, Milkyway Image; Ed Arentz, Palm Pictures; Debbi Berlin, Tartan Films; Jon Soo, Tai Seng Entertainment; and Nicholas Davies, Toronto International Film Festival.