Friday

Two Johnnie To films in one week? You might think I've gone Johnnie To crazy, but perhaps that's not such a bad thing. PTU was also a very good movie. I saw it reviewed as 'After Hours with guns', which meant I almost definitely had to see it. A cop loses his gun and spends the rest of the night, with the help of a group of PTU (Police Tactical Unit) officers, trying to get it back. We are submerged into the different levels of the Hong Kong police and the criminal underworld working for and against each other in various ways. The nighttime cityscape, backstreets and deserted alleyways are pretty eerie. This film is much more gritty compared to the highly stylised Exiled. Not to say this film doesn't have style, only it's much more brutal. It all builds brilliantly to a big, albeit meaningless, gunfight at the end. There is a sense of humour here, but it can be cruel. Strangely, it seemed like it was from the 1980s, rather than 2003. I definitely liked it, although my pleasure probably would've been doubled if it wasn't for the couple of annoying students sitting behind me constantly giggling through their noses. More thoughts on Johnnie To tomorrow.