Movie mini-review: "Election" (2005)

In a quiet field in Kowloon, one man bludgeons another repeatedly with a length of pipe. The attacker demands the handover of a carved baton, but the victim’s only response is to recite a terrible oath. Suddenly, both their mobile phones ring and everything changes. Welcome to the contradictory world of the Hong Kong Triads, in which a democratic election means nothing unless the winner possesses an antique symbol of office. Here, gangsters take part in tea ceremonies, henchmen in Italian suits fight with machetes and loyalty is absolute...until it isn’t. This film is shockingly good.

[DVD released for sale in Oz tomorrow]