Reviewed by Miriam Brent
Stars Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung,
Roy Cheung, Lam Suet, Josie Ho, Richie Ren, Ellen Chan,
Ka Tung Lam, Siu-Fai Cheung, Ping-Man Tam
Written by Kam-Yuen Szeto & Tin-Shing Yip
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 104 minutes
Directed by Johnny To
Tales of Hong Kong's criminal underworld provide rich pickings for Asian cinema, and at first glance Exiled seems to fit the tried and tested route of a gritty inter-Triad shoot 'em up. But unlike its genre stable-mates, Exiled stands out by adding a splash of spaghetti Western to create a heavily stylised piece, with more than a nod to the classics of Sergio Leone — there's even some harmonica action thrown in for good measure. In many ways, the plot is almost secondary to the elaborate gun battles scattered throughout the movie.
Set in Macau on the eve of its return to Chinese control in 1998, the film picks up the story as Wo (Nick Cheung) returns to Macau with his wife and newborn baby following his exile for attempting to assassinate his former gang leader, Boss Fay (Simon Yam). Seeking vengeance, Boss Fay sends two of Wo's old gang to return the favour, Blaze (Anthony Wong) and Fat (Lam Suet), but coming to Wo's aid are two old friends, Tai (Francis Ng) and Cat (Roy Cheung). After a Reservoir Dogs-style shootout in Wo's apartment, a classic black comedy moment sees the men decide to temporarily bury their differences to help Wo finish moving in before talking things through over a spot of dinner. It's eventually agreed that the old friends will do one last job together to provide Wo's wife and baby with some cash, but Blaze is adamant that he must still kill Wo. As the men struggle between loyalty to their friend and loyalty to their gang leader, there follows plenty of choreographed shootouts and bloodshed before matters are inescapably resolved. Director Johnny To set out to do something different with Exiled, aiming to make a film that wasn't a typical "Hong Kong" movie. He certainly achieved it. The aping of Western motifs is clear from the start, with dramatic close-ups, standoffs and minimal dialogue — which, incidentally, is all improvised — not to mention the Morricone-like score. But there's also a thread of light-hearted humour running throughout the film that sets it apart from some of To's earlier work and invites you just to sit back and enjoy the action. While much of the cinematography is beautifully shot and the frequent battles are suitably violent, on the whole Exiled is a triumph of style over substance. There's little to engage the viewer between the intense action scenes, and few opportunities offered to really connect with the characters — or their moral dilemmas. If you're a fan of shoot 'em ups, the dark comedy and innovative styling will probably leave you sated, but as Hong Kong's official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Academy Awards its unlikely to win over the assembled members.
EXTRAS ** A 12-minute making-of featurette, which proves more revealing than the film. A good insight into the morality and brotherhood debates that provide the film's backbone.