TIFF Report: Exiled review

Anyone lamenting To’s departure from his stylized action movie days can breathe sigh of relief. Exiled marks his return to the familiar ground and reminds us why we fell in love with HK action films in the first place. What Exiled achieves is what very few films can. It completes a perfect blend of humor, action and heart as it spins its violent tale. And as far as To is concerned I think it is also an improvement on the films that made him one of the leading HK film directors and a favorite for fans overseas. While it is a throwback to HK actioners it has matured with age and is more sophisticate, sharper and finishes better that mostly everything in the last ten years. Exceptional work.

Exiled, at its core, is an Eastern Western. There are heroes and there are villains. Both are untouchable. Both have a swagger in their walk. Everyone else is simply fodder. The guns report with loud authority and the action sequences, all save but one, are in close quarters lending to the thrill of each sequence. Visually To is on top of his game and his signature is all over Exiled. Tell me you don’t appreciate the gun fight moving from the underground doctor’s office to outside up and down the stairwell and I will pay for an eye inspection for you because you clearly missed how intricately choreographed that sequence was. And the final sequence reminds us why climactic gun fights are always best when they take place in a hotel, church, mansion or hospital. It simply can’t be beat.

The cast is fantastic, consisting of mostly Johnnie To regulars. Nick Cheung and Josie Ho play husband and wife. The always cool Anthony Wong and Suet Lam are gangsters sent on the mission. Francis Ng and Roy Cheung set out to stop them. Simon Yam hams its up as the boss betrayed by Nick’s character and orders the hit. Everyone is perfect. Anthony, Suet, Francis, Roy and Simon are always reliable. Josie is a pleasant surprise and very much lends to the emotional pull of the story.

The musical score by Guy Zerafa also lent to that western feel. Lone, sad guitar solos filled the landscape. And the stunning landscape and gorgeous architecture of Macau certainly lend to that western feel. They both appear largely untouched by time and modernization so the feel of the desert heat [especially at the beginning of the thrid act in the rock quarry] and towns is perfect.

I haven’t been this happy coming out of a screening in a long time. I haven’t been this happy with a film from HK in over a year. Films like this simply cannot be diamonds in the rough. Though HK is producing less films than it did in its hey-day the number of winners to losers is still unacceptable. What has happened to the heart and soul of HK filmmaking and why does it seem that directors like To are some of the very few who get it? If this film does not do well back in its native land then there is also something to be concerned about with the heart and soul of HK and this loss of vision that so few have held on to. Highly recommended.