If an auteur is defined as someone who perfected their cinematic style through the antagonistic relationship between the film industry systems and creators, then Johnnie To is certainly an auteur of Hong Kong cinema. And Election is a film that bears his authorial signature through and through. While rooted in Hong Kong noir, Election transforms the genre’s characteristics through its own style and worldview, redefining Hong Kong noir. Lok’s transformation from a flat character who upholds the traditional values of the triad into a round character of complexity, or the image of his son who is traumatized after witnessing his father’s dark side and descends into psychological turmoil, clearly reveal the director’s authorial style—transforming the romantic atmosphere characteristic of Hong Kong noir into something new and intricate. For To, a romantic hero is nothing more, and nothing less, than ‘dog food.’ In this respect, Election resembles the revisionist Western in dismantling the mythology of its genre and replacing it with a portrait of social reality. Election was selected for the Competition section of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
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