Election 2 | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 黑社會:以和爲貴 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 黑社会:以和为贵 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Directed by | Johnnie To | ||||||||||
Written by | Yau Nai-Hoi Yip Tin-Shing | ||||||||||
Produced by | Dennis Law Johnnie To | ||||||||||
Starring | Louis Koo Simon Yam Nick Cheung Cheung Siu-fai Lam Suet Gordon Lam | ||||||||||
Cinematography | Cheng Siu-Keung | ||||||||||
Edited by | Law Wing-Cheong Jeff Cheung | ||||||||||
Music by | Robert Ellis-Geiger | ||||||||||
Production companies | |||||||||||
Distributed by | China Star Entertainment Group | ||||||||||
Release date |
| ||||||||||
Running time | 92 minutes | ||||||||||
Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
Languages | Cantonese Mandarin | ||||||||||
Box office | US$1.8 million[1] |
Election 2 (literal title: Black Society: Harmony is a Virtue), also known as Triad Election in the United States, is a 2006 Category III Hong Kong crime film directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast including Louis Koo, Simon Yam and Nick Cheung. A sequel to the 2005 film Election, the film concludes the events of the first film centring on triad boss Lok, who struggles to get re-elected as his two-year term approaches its end. He faces competition from Jimmy, who wants to retire from the triad to be a legitimate businessman, but gets drawn into the conflict surrounding the election.
Election 2 enjoyed box office success in Hong Kong and being shown as an "Official Selection" at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Afterwards, it became a popular hit on the international festival circuit.
Stephen Teo, author of Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Film (2007), wrote that "Election 2 is the most directly political film made in Hong Kong in the post-97 era."[2]