(Exiled), Johnnie To / Hongkong, Čína, 2006
109 min
Wo once tried to kill his superior, Hong Kong mafia boss Fay. Since then he’s been on the run. Though finally settling down in Macao with his wife and small child, he knows that one day Fay will send his people for him. He doesn’t expect it to be so soon however, or that he would know the hit men so well. Events are hampered by the arrival of two gangsters who are, in fact, meant to protect him. Thus, after all these years, Wo meets up with old friends who were broken up by their services for different gangs. The five ageing killers recall their notorious past and set out on one more mission together… Johnnie To films yet another Hong Kong homage to the westerns of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, in which the spectacular gunfights and scenes of the proverbial “bloody ballet” alternate with nostalgia for the old days and reflections on the value of honour, friendship, and solidarity. The leading roles are played by the acting elite of East Asian cinema. (source: catalogue Karlovy Vary IFF)
