It may seem strange to watch the sequel to a movie you've never seen, but, at the last minute, the fest couldn't get the print of Johnnie To's Election, so they showed the sequel, Triad Election (they were originally planning to show both). Fortunately, Triad Election holds up pretty well on its own, and with the exception of one or two character arcs, everything makes sense without the backstory.
Triad Election follows the story of Jimmy, a criminal lieutenant everyone is expecting to run for chairman of his gang. Lok, the current chair, wants a second term, and will stop at nothing to get it. That's all well and good as long as Jimmy wants to go legit, but when he discovers that his business goals are inextricably tied to his becoming chairman, he has no choice but to run (I hear they're trying this with Gore). This, of course, pisses off Lok, and cold-blooded killing ensues.
To's sequel is the old-school gangsta shit. Think Godfather, not Hard Boiled, with gloriously murky cinematography and a brooding score. To may not have anything new to say about the Faustian "But I don't wanna be a gangster!" aspects of the genre, but he says it well.
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