The cinematic CV of Hong Kong-born director Johnnie To Kei-fung (杜琪峯) spans decades. While To’s filmography hops and skips between genres, his best work remains neo-noir thrillers where cops and crooks commingle to spawn a fertile mulch of criminal cinematic hijinks. His preferred locale: the city of Macau.
Johnnie To Kei-fung looks on during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2024 in his capacity as one of the members of its International Competition Jury, in Tokyo on October 28, 2024. – Photo courtesy of Dick Thomas Johnson/Wikimedia Commons
Like Macau itself, To, 71, has roots in both Asia and now Europe—audiences on the continent (particularly France and Italy) appreciate his work like few other Hong Kong filmmakers.
In the 90s, To (pronounced “toe”) and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-fai founded Milkyway Image (HK) Ltd (銀河映像（香港）有限公司), a production house specialising in cost-efficient independent films made by To and Wai.
Keeping it old-school
Unlike gwailo-friendly film fare like Ballad of a Small Player (2025), To’s visions of Macau don’t include swooping drone shots of Cotai glitz. He prefers to set his principals against backdrops of old-school colonial architecture and cobblestones.
The visual charms of traditional shades (ochre against bull’s blood, marine green) suit To’s tales of camaraderie and betrayal. His characters – often played by some of Hong Kong’s more skilled character actors – circle each other like grizzled veterans of Sergio Leone productions.
Exiled to Macau
A good place to start is Exiled (放‧逐, 2006), produced and directed by To. Two teams of gunsels converge on a cobblestoned street, looking for a man they’ve been ordered to kill. But it’s dinnertime, so the toughies end up helping Wo (Nick Cheung (張家輝)) cook and eat a meal. His fate is predestined, but none of his would-be assassins are keen on the snuff.
A series of stylish shootouts detonates on Macau streets, including a sequence near the now-shuttered MacTim Café. To’s vision includes a simulacrum of a classic Macau hotel –room-corridors arranged around a central courtyard. It’s a set – the “hotel” had no roof, to accommodate overhead shots. Fortunately shooting wasn’t scheduled for the rainy season.
Theatrical release poster for Johnnie To’s 2006 movie “Exiled” – Image courtesy of IMDb
The persistence of vengeance
In 2009, Johnnie To was appointed an Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the country’s Minister of Culture. That same year saw the release of Vengeance (復仇), directed by To and starring Johnny Hallyday – France’s answer to Elvis Presley.
Hallyday plays Francis Costello, a Parisian restauranteur whose Coloane bistro is violently invaded by bad guys. Bullet lodged in his skull, Costello experiences memory loss and, like Guy Pearce’s character in Memento, he scribbles vital information on Polaroid photos. The Frenchman is aided by a hired trio of gunslingers, played by Anthony Wong (黃秋生), Lam Suet (林雪) and Gordon Lam (林家棟).
Stylized handgun-battles on narrow Macau streets, shifting loyalties, set-piece attacks punctuated by echoed guitar and percussion ensue. Vengeance dished up boffo box office in the Eurozone and was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Theatrical release poster for Johnnie To’s 2009 movie “Vengeance” – Image courtesy of IMDb
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*A Hong Kong-based US author and film critic.
