by James Mottram in Doha
Alongside the likes of John Woo and Ringo Lam, Johnnie To is undisputably one of the greatest Hong Kong action directors of all time. From 1993’s female-led martial arts tale The Heroic Trio to Triad thrillers like Election and Vengeance, To has carved out a career exciting audiences with elaborate set-pieces and nerve-jangling moments of pure cinema. No wonder Quentin Tarantino is a known admirer of To, a director who is beloved by action aficionados the world over.
Think about some of the remarkable sequences he’s directed. The opening of 2004’s Breaking News for example – a seven-minute tracking shot that depicts a stunning shoot-out between cops and crooks. Netflix’s own one-shot drama Adolescence may have captured imaginations of late, but To’s work here is just as exhilarating. Or consider 2016’s Three, with its shoot-out in a hospital – absolutely unforgettable, adrenaline-spiking cinema.
While a film like The Heroic Trio was very female-oriented (it stars Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and Michelle Yeoh), much of what To does is explore male friendship dynamics. “In many of my projects, you can see that most of the time I would adopt this male perspective to look at things,” he says. “In my movies, you very often see different types of relationships, a lot of love and hate and respect and grievance. Perhaps it’s because when I watch movies myself, I very often like these elements.”
When FilmInk meets To, it’s in Doha. The 69-year-old has arrived in the Qatari capital for Qumra, the annual event organised by the Doha Film Institute that brings together emerging MENA-region directors with master filmmakers. Already this week, Walter Salles – recent Oscar-winner for I’m Still Here – and Darius Khondji, the Iranian-born cinematographer of Se7en have imparted their wisdom here. When To takes to the stage, there’s a palpable excitement as the director guides us through some of his finest hours on screen.
While To last directed the 2019 feature Chasing Dream, about a boxer and a singer chasing the Chinese Dream, he’s not stopped working. He currently has a TV series, What If, which he produced, on TV in Hong Kong. “The subject is talking about ‘What if?’” he explains. “People always say ‘if’. ‘If I don’t go’, ‘if I go’, ‘if I choose or not choose’. Many ifs. Your whole life, you say ‘if’.”
He’s also considering shooting a gangster film in Japan in 2026, and a movie about the issues that Hong Kong has faced since the handover to China from Britain in 1997.
Yet for all his plans, he knows that it’s tough to be a film director right now. “We are at the worst time. Sometimes we will feel, ‘Oh, it’s not going so great, but it’s going to pass, and better times will come’. But this time, it may be different. I think the era is very different. This generation is very different. Actually, if we look at the overall production figures around the world, things have been declining, and young people nowadays… you can see how they allocate their time very differently compared to when we were younger.”
These days, watching movies on the big screen is becoming outmoded. “We would watch movies and that would be considered a very good way of entertainment. But today, everyone is on their iPhone and iPads all the time. We no longer have the same time allotted to watching movies. And this is not just affecting Hong Kong.”
Even To admits that he’s tempted to watch things at home rather than at the cinema. “If I am at home, I take the iPad. I can drink whiskey. I can smoke!” he chuckles.
He seems a little downcast, however, with the state of the Hong Kong film industry (just “two, three movies being made this year – horrible!”). “It’s difficult to find investors in the movies, right? They lose money. All the investors lose money.” But he still holds faith in cinema. “The point is, if it can make money, the investors will continue, but they know that they won’t. If we can support Hong Kong movies we can sell in China. In China now… it’s a big market.”
Curiously, To has never plied his trade in Hollywood – unlike, say, John Woo. Was it simply a case of knowing that he’d not be given the same freedoms as he’s allowed in Hong Kong? “Of course, I like to be a director who has more freedom. I try to make a Hollywood movie, but sometimes they don’t allow you to change your script, or you change things and they don’t like it. That why I have to do it. I do the movie… the movie belongs to me. It not only belongs to your investor.”
It’s no surprise that To stayed in Hong Kong, sometimes making two or three movies a year in his heyday. “Hong Kong gave me that kind of chance. I stay in Hong Kong, and I know Hong Kong… I can say many things about Hong Kong. If I go to Hollywood, I don’t know Hollywood. I only know the Hollywood movie on screen.”
While he once cast French single Johnny Hallyday (in Vengeance), he’s steered clear of American movies. “Not that easy,” he says, simply.
For the moment, To can simply luxuriate in the fact that he’s had Tarantino fanboying over him (as QT said in one interview, talking about his obsession with crime movies, “the ones I loved the most were from foreign countries – the Hong Kong gangster movies, [like Johnnie To].”
To perks up when Tarantino’s name is mentioned. “We are big fans of each other,” he says. “I heard – now he wants to retire!” Maybe you and he can co-direct? “Let’s call him up!” To laughs.
One of To’s greatest triumphs was the 2005 gang drama Election, starring Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-Fai, and its sequel Election 2. Was it something he’s proud of? “Of course, I hope there are people watching all my movies!” he says, with a smile. “I was very happy about it. The feeling of why I did Election and Election 2… it was because I had something to talk about, the situation of the day. It is a very sensitive topic, Election.”
Would he consider a third movie, to complete the trilogy? “Not yet, not yet,” he says, hinting that the delicate situation in Hong Kong right now, with Chinese rule, makes a film like Election a tricky one to make. And in truth, he has other plans as he heads towards his 70th birthday. He wants to spend more time with his family. “Now I think about: what is the value of life?” he says. Still, you suspect that Johnnie To isn’t done yet. A third act awaits.
