Exiled (Johnny To, 2006) [HK]

[krillov]

Título: Exiled Título V.O: Fong juk Director: Johnny To Año/País: 2006 / Hong Kong Duración: 108 minutos Género: Crimen, Thriller Reparto: Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Ellen Chan, Nick Cheung, Roy Cheung, Josie Ho. Enlaces: Milkyway · Subs Ficha de: Krillov

[krillov]

I had the fortunate opportunity to see this at the Toronto International Film Festival. Johnnie To and actress Josie Ho came to the first screening at TIFF to present the film. I am afraid To is more comfortably vocal in the interviews on his DVDs.

To begin, the film is not a sequel to The Mission. It is the same general cast with a new actors telling a completely different story with different characters. It is however, in very much in the spirit of The Mission. The good news however is that Exiled rocks. The film starts with a hand knocking on the door. A baby is crying in the background and a woman opens the door. Two men ask for a man named Wo. The woman claims she has never heard of him. The two men, who are assigned to protect Wo, leave. The door is knocking again and another pair of men ask for Wo. The woman claims she has never heard of him once again and shuts the door. The two men have been assigned to kill Wo. The four men meet and wait. Wo pulls in on the street in a truck. The film is done in such dramatic simplicity it does not need translation. And that's a sample of what Exiled is all about. The tension is on for shot one and things move only with a purpose.

These actors all are the character actors of Hong Kong; they usually don't' get lead roles and play supporting roles or lead villains. To uses them to their potential in this. Even though you wouldn't classify any of them as being a star or physically good-looking it is astonishing how much presence each of these actors take up on the screen. There's a part in the film where a police car pulls up to a conflict between the hit men in the film, two of these actors turn around and look at the police car and it gave me goosebumps. Beneath each of these five men who are cold-blooded killers underlies a deep sentimentality and it is felt throughout the film. Between these men, actions speak more than words. Anthony Wong, Lam Suet, Nick Cheung Ka Fai and Roy Cheung play their roles with an underplayed subtle intensity. Francis Ng is between explosive and withheld intensity. The five actors play well together, in the film's dramatic and comedic moments. It's nice to see Simon Yam play a clumsy over-the-top gangster boss after the two Electionfilms. Something to note amongst the actors is Josie Ho as Nick Cheung's wife with a baby which works as the driving force for the entire film. Ho's performance feels real. It is also a surprise because To's films usually are about men and women rarely take a stand but it's nice to see that change now finally. A question asked to the cast at the Venice Film Festival if it was possible that any of the cast members be nominated for acting awards, to which the cast reminded the press that they are an ensemble cast. Each member is just a part of the team and they are working together to reach the same goal. Each member of the team are very good actors in their own right but sadly that makes it harder for each of them to be nominated individually for an award. However in Exiled's case, they do succeed as an ensemble.

The gunfights are phenomenal. I truly believe that even though everyone else have recently caught up; Hong Kong still leads the trend in action film-making. I do not mean that in terms of scale but rather the innovation and effort that goes into these action sequences. What really comes out in the gunfights in Exiled is how closequarters the gunfights actually are. These are multiple gun men in Mexican standoffs shooting at each other closequarters in claustrophobic Macau spaces. At Venice, one of the actors conversed with an American reporter and asked him how gunfights would be set up in Hollywood. The reporter looked back and said, "They wouldn't. There wouldn't set it up like this." I have to say I believe that is true as you literally see the gunpowder flying into the actor's faces.

The film is a film designed to garner more international attention for To it seems but there is nothing wrong with that. If anything, Johnnie To has earned all this; being one of the most consistent HK directors and one of the major reminders of what Hong Kong films are all about. Exiled is not new territory for Johnnie To. It is a combination of all the good elements from Johnnie To films, which include underplayed acting, dormant action set-pieces, empty night spaces, well-fleshed characters, boyish immaturity and a dark quirky sense of humor. It'll be familiar to fans, but again, Johnnie To has given us enough good films to make this. Exiled hits all those notes but some may say that the film does stray in the second act. I say, it's all in good fun. Hell, it's better.

El DVD llevaba subtítulos en inglés, pero de momento no los encuentro por ahí. No creo que tarden mucho en aparecer .

[Silien]

Me has ganado por poco... pero coño, ¿qué reparto has puesto? Sólo te has dejado a Anthony Wong, a Francis Ng, a Lam Suet y a Simon Yam... ¡Casi todos los protagonistas!  

[corqsan]

Esta era muy esperada, gracias. Seré el primero en decir algo acerca de los subtitulos aunque supongo q con algo de estás carácterísticas no tardarán. En definitiva; Gracias

[krillov]

Me has ganado por poco... pero coño, ¿qué reparto has puesto? Sólo te has dejado a Anthony Wong, a Francis Ng, a Lam Suet y a Simon Yam... ¡Casi todos los protagonistas!  

  Eso me pasa por copiar del IMDB, ahora mismo lo arreglo, Silien .

[scarecrown]

Jeje, venga no os peleeis gracias por la ficha

[kaishakunin]

Jejejejje. Desde luego para mí la película más esperada. Gracias krillov. Antes de que nos demos cuenta, tendremos los subs en todos los idiomas.  

[OZN]

Voy bajando la version 1 CD para verla, en cuanto salga la de 2 CD para abajo tambíen, gracias chicos.

[David]

Eso mismo iba a decir yo: un ripeo de 700 Mb a estas alturas es como que un poquillo chusquero, sobre todo para lanzamientos como este. No digo que no se deban hacer ripeos pequeños, dios me libre, pero sí que a lo mejor no deberían ser los primeros en lanzarse.

Pero bueno, tengo la misma idea de ripear que mi madre, así que...

Bueno, para abajo con ella. Gracias, Krillov

[maedhros]

Y yo desde hace una semana con internet que no me va ni al 10% . Muchas gracias krillov... Si se da el milagro de que consiga bajarla igual me animo con la traducción...

[krillov]

Y yo desde hace una semana con internet que no me va ni al 10% . Muchas gracias krillov... Si se da el milagro de que consiga bajarla igual me animo con la traducción...

Si estás registrado igual te puedes descargar el torrent de FSS. De todos modos si te veo te doy slot .

[Duende Maligno]

Anda! Si es que llegan todas a la vez!   Para abajo!!! Gracias!

[JOB]

!Ole, ole y ole!    gracias krillov.

[kairocure]

Peliculón!!!

Gracias krillov. maedhros esperaremos esos subs tuyos, que son inmejorables...  

[Silien]

Eso me pasa por copiar del IMDB, ahora mismo lo arreglo, Silien .

   Ya sabía yo que habías usado la imdb jeje (algún día sabremos en que orden ponen a los actores, porque vamos...). He añadido la encuesta (tenía que poder votar obra maestra) y he cambiado el enlace de la carátula por el de la crítica que escribió Thug_Life para Tijeretazos (hay que barrer un poco para casa... y además está en castellano...). A mi es cada vez me da más rabia la imdb... La veo imprecisa muchas veces y con algún criterio bastante dudoso (como la puñetera ordenación del reparto)... Mi consejo para películas hongkonesas es que useis HKFlix. Os proporciona la carátula al tamaño perfecto y los actores en su orden, entre otras cosas   .

Nada, gracias Krillov por la ficha (que no había dicho nada) y a Maedhros por esos futuros y perfectos subtítulos...

Ah, y he añadido la película a las retrospectivas de Johnnie To y Anthony Wong.