The Mission (1999: Johnnie To: Hong Kong)

[masterofoneinchpunch]

“I only knew what filmmaking was about when making The Mission” – Johnnie To

1999 was a breakout year for Johnnie To. He started off with the underrated Where a Good Man Goes, but it was the next two films that would help raise his status as an auteur. The commercial success of Running Out of Time was followed by the critical success of The Mission (which was not a commercial success) where he would win best director at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Bauhinia Awards and Golden Horse Film. It follows a pattern of To filming more personal projects which were funded by the more popular fare of his co-owned production company Milkyway. The Mission was invited along with two other To titles to the Berlin Film Festival after Ulrich Gregor saw the film. This led to more Milkyway titles being shown at various cinematic events.

The Chinese title (鎗火) translates to gunfire. I prefer the English title which refers more to the homosocial nature of the team aspects in this film (a theme also explored in other To films like PTU and Exiled). In many ways this was a typical Hong Kong production. It took 18 days to film, cost about 320,000 American dollars (2.5 million HK dollars) to make and there was no script. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the results were atypical. What was created was an elliptical, sometimes enigmatic yet energetic film about honor and languor among lower triad members. It is among my top 50 Hong Kong movies of all-time.

The film has a simple yet elegant structure to it. You can break it into three acts, but it really consists of a prologue (five minutes), the main act (58 minutes) and a coda (21 minutes; or you can consider this the second act.) There is a prologue which economically shows all five of the main characters who will later be hired as bodyguards. Afterwards there is an interesting use of having the shootout start and background noises in the credits which starts the main mission. Then there is a minor mission as the coda.

The main mission which takes the majority of the film is started when a triad boss Lung (Eddy Ko Hung: The Thundering Mantis) has an attempt on his life by unknown assailants. His brother Frank (Simon Yam: PTU) hires five bodyguards (Curtis: Anthony Wong, Roy: Francis Ng, Shin: Jackie Lui, Mike: Roy Cheung, James: Lam Suet) to protect him. They are basically sequestered until whoever is behind the attempts on Lung is found and removed as a threat. This means hours of just sitting around, playing pranks and doing menial chores like chauffeuring Mrs. Lung. This is most exemplified by the most famous scene where the bodyguards kick a paper ball back and forth to each other while waiting for Mr. Lung. It writes banal but it comes across as exhilarating as the chatter between Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction (itself a scene reminiscent of Shoot the Piano Player). The scenes of boredom reminds me of pertinent aspects of several jobs that are rarely filmed such as police officers, private investigators where you have hours of tedium sometimes followed by intense life-and-death activities like the assassination attempts in this film.

Small spoilers ahead in this paragraph: Surprisingly the mission is wrapped up quicker than you might realize. However, this leads to the coda where their codes of work and honor will be tested. To had two different endings for the film. The bleak ending was not used because the past several post-handover films from Milkway like The Longest Nite and Expect the Unexpected had doleful endings. He wanted to make his films lighter.

This is a must watch for not just Hong Kong film fans, but anyone who studies cinema as well. Fans of action might be put off by the static compositions and use of lethargic pacing. To’s mix is akin to combining John Woo and Michelangelo Antonioni. Where else do you see jianghu (literally translated as rivers and lakes but it is an idiom that means the fictional universe inhabited within a wuxia or gangster movie) concepts mixed with malaise? But with this film To showed that he was an auteur and a brilliant one at that who could mix a variety of seemingly incompatible influences into a genre film and create one of the unique films of the era. If there is a weakness to me it is the soundtrack. Sometimes the minimalist electronic beats are effective and sometimes it comes off as reminiscent of the computerized scores prevalent in the 1980s though sometimes the beat is strangely catchy. It is but a small flaw. The acting is superb with the intense Francis Ng among my favorites here. The cinematography has been dissected and rightly heralded by critics. Since it carries many To’s trademarks it helps to view this film more than once or at least pay strict attention while watching it. Plot points are alluded to and rarely repeated more than once. It is a challenging work and it is no wonder that this film continues to be among the top Chinese languge lists.

I always find cinematic connections fascinating and this film is abundant with these allusions. To has stated “I was under the influence of Akira Kurosawa when I was shooting “The Mission.” You can see it in To’s use of the vertical wipe as well as the use of camera movement.* Stephen Teo documents a lot of them in his monograph on Johnnie To in the book Director in Action. But you can also see the influence of Takashi Kitano on him as well especially in Sonatine. You can see this less explicitly in the torture scene (one of the most disturbing scenes in Sonatine to me was when the gangster was drowned by being left in the water too long, you do not get to see the result of what happens to analogous character in this film right away though another example of To’s use of elliptical technique), but much more explicit on the Tsuen Wan Shopping Mall shooting scene which paralleled the laconic and Spartan

in Sonatine which almost looks like a Civil War standoff. The gangster malaise seen throughout this movie in common with Kitano is also familiar to fans of French auteur Jean Pierre Melville another big influence on To and John Woo.** The split screen scene is most likely influenced by the split-screens used in Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair which also was the basis of To’s 2004 film Yesterday Once More.

This OOP Mei Ah R1/NTSC copy is interlaced and the picture quality suffers a bit. The darks tend to be too dark. I am sure this is just a port from the laserdisc. There are three sets of subtitles: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English. The English subs are pretty good. The two audio tracks are Cantonese and Mandarin with either Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. There is a trailer for the film (strangely has some scenes sped up) and one trailer for Ringo Lam’s Victim (1999). The only other extras under the hilariously titled Data Bank are a Synopsis and Cast & Crew in both Chinese and English.

This is a movie that needs to have a good BD/DVD release of. For the States it would make a nice Criterion edition – if only Criterion treated Mainland, Taiwanese and Hong Kong films as seriously as they do Japanese. When Johnnie To did his top 10 Criterions (this is a superlative selection, make a point to see these movies if you have not already) for the company I was hoping this meant a release of one of his films but alas nothing came of it. At least the British Masters of Cinema put a release of Mad Detective (highly recommended; it is surprisingly R0/NTSC.) But I would love for any company to put out a remastered BD/DVD of this.

* Akira Kurosawa loved using the vertical wipe as a transaction for small shifts in time while he would use the fade for longer periods of time. His use of excess amounts of rain in scenes is well known and influenced many Hong Kong directors. You would find countless influences in works by Johnnie To and John Woo.

** I find it fascinating that all three of those directors (Woo, To and Melville) have stated that they prefer and understand directing men’s character and have trouble with women’s characterizations. All three also have similarities where they deal with gangster’s codes of conduct. To and Woo are both fans of musicals and have wanted to direct one.

Notes:
You can always find connections in To’s movies to other To films besides Lam Suet. Some are more obvious than others while some are just small connections. The loss of fingers by an unpaying client by Roy reminded me of the finger gag in The Odd One Dies. The video game playing reminded me of Throwdown where there it plays a more important aspect. Anthony Wong’s unusual looks is also commented in Exiled. The boss making coffee is a scene similar to many in To’s films where food is often prepared like the robbers in Breaking News and Costello making the meal in Vengeance.

The more I watch this the more I realize that the boss Lung is controlled quite a bit by his brother. Pay attention to who makes the calls for people to be killed (of course one can make the argument that it keeps Lung’s hands clean.) Also pay attention to Lung’s demeanor. In history many important figures were secondary and smartly in the shadows. It makes you less likely for an assassination attempt.

Sources:
These two books below have quite a bit of information on the movie with plenty of references. So much I was wondering what I could add that has not already been written. Though I was able to find some connections that no one else had mentioned (that I have read.) Stephen Teo has in depth interviews with To that is a must read for anyone interested in this director. Bordwell goes over the cinematic aspects of the film quite well and his writings are always a joy to read. Both of these books should be in your possession. Both books refer to Hong Kong Panorama 1999 – 2000 (2000) which is a book I would love to have though it is difficult to find now.

Book: Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Films (2007) by Stephen Teo
Book: Planet Hong Kong (Second Edition: 2011) by David Bordwell
Interview: Senses of Cinema -- Interview: Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai (2001)
Criterionforums.com Johnnie To thread

Edited March 31, 2017 by masterofoneinchpunch

[DiP]

The film that introduced me to the world of Milkyway film-making...

[DrNgor]

I wasn't prepared to enjoy the movie when I read about the un-John Woo shoot-outs, but the film won me over, especially the paper ball scene. I also liked how the torture scene had something of a "warm" follow-up near the end, even if the scene ended tragically.

[David Rees]

Great review of a great film. The film was released on DVD in France in a lovely anamorphic widescreen edition but sadly has no English subs. (I have a fan made disc of this with subs added and it will have to do until someone does it justice,hopefully on Blu ray).

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The film that introduced me to the world of Milkyway film-making...

It wasn't my first (or second) so I think I appreciated it even more later on in my Johnnie To watchings. I had seen a few earlier non-Milkyway movies first then Fulltime Killer which so-so to me, then I watch Running Out of Time and liked it. Didn't think of Johnnie To again until PTU which I loved and after that tried to get my hands on any Johnnie To film made. I've been a fan ever since (with not liking a few films here and there like Wu Yen .)

Other Johnnie To/Milkyway reviews here for those interested:

Drug War

The Odd One Dies

Too Many Ways To Be No. 1

Triangle

[Drunken Monk]

This year has been a Johnnie To year for me. I hadn't watched many of his films prior to 2023 but thanks to a number of Blu Ray releases, I've been able to watch a few recently.
The Mission is a superb gangster...thriller? Drama? It certainly blends genres. One thing's for sure, it's slick as hell and with a brief run time, it makes for one hell of a watch.
The premise is simple: Eddy Ko is a Triad boss and someone's trying to kill him. He hires a handful of bodyguards to protect him and protect him they do. Then, with half an hour to spare, the film takes quite an interesting turn.
I really enjoyed this one. I love how subtle To can be in his direction. He doesn't need to be flashy and over the top. Even his shootouts are relatively simple. There's a few of them in this film and they're all unique to one another. The action is tense, bloody and wonderfully crafted. This film actually features one of my favorite death scenes of all time but I won't spoil anything.
Speaking of tension, the last ten minutes in this film are HEAVY. A truly masterful way of ramping things up and leaving the audience of the edge of their seat. I was pumped to see how it would end.
If you go in expecting lashings of action, you may be a smidgen disappointed. This isn't a John Woo flick. But if you want a mish-mash of character driven story and shootouts, you should love The Mission.

Word of warning, the incessant tune that plays throughout the film is enough to drive anyone mad.

[Yihetuan]

Speaking of The Mission, good news on the way as a restored version is due among others next year. Hopefully a physical release is not too far off their premieres at next years Udine Film Festival.

[DiP]

About damn time!!!

Several other To/Milkyway movies deserve the HD treatment too... The Big Heat, The Story of My Son (underrated drama movie), Loving You, Beyond Hypothermia, Intruder, The Odd One Dies, Too Many To Be No. 1, Expect the Unexpected (the French bluray is upscaled), The Longest Nite (the French bluray is upscaled), A Hero Never Dies (Japan released a restored print on bluray five years ago which hasn't seen the light elsewhere), Where a Good Man Goes, Fulltime Killer, Eye in the Sky (the HK bluray is upscaled), and Triangle (same situation as AHND).

Edited July 14, 2023 by DiP

[BigDruDogg]

That's fantastic news!!

Maybe Chameleon Films will keep the Johnnie To love going and release those newly remasters... (i personally don't care who puts them out as long as someone does)

[Yihetuan]

A couple of conflicting stories regarding the restoration. I thought that Taiwanese tycoon has the negatives?

 

[Karlos]

So, the HD copies that are out there - are they real HD, upscales or what?

And does anyone know where they came from?

[laagi]

8 minutes ago, Karlos said:

So, the HD copies that are out there - are they real HD, upscales or what?

And does anyone know where they came from?

I see a lot of HD copies nowadays of classic HK films pop-up on chinese streaming sites.

Not sure where they source those but I do know there's a couple of HK distributors who actually still have negatives.

Unsurprisingly though some of these copies might be censored accordingly.

Streaming seems the most likely way nowadays since there's zero to no interest in the China/HK territory for a physical release of what we "laowai" would consider a classic!

[laagi]

16 hours ago, Yihetuan said:

A couple of conflicting stories regarding the restoration. I thought that Taiwanese tycoon has the negatives?

 

LOL it's the 'Shaolin Vs Lama' situation all over again. Why do they always have to bark first without having something to actually back it up. I don't get the strategy!? Or are they desperate to flex in the fan community? The only thing this does is leave fans disgruntled once again.

[PandaPawPaw]

It's kind of crazy how we now have the Mandarin cut of The Big Boss and GOD footage yet this doesn't have a good release.

Johnnie To is one of my favourite HK directors!

[DiP]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:30 AM, Yihetuan said:

A couple of conflicting stories regarding the restoration. I thought that Taiwanese tycoon has the negatives?

 

Looking like a John Woo situation there. I truly hope they find it.

[DiP]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:30 AM, Yihetuan said:

A couple of conflicting stories regarding the restoration. I thought that Taiwanese tycoon has the negatives?

 

I belive Dylan missed something. Because restoration of the movie from the ORIGINAL film negative was already done last year, and even shown at this year's Far East Film Festival. We can all relax now, and wait for home video announcements in the near future.

 https://thefilmstage.com/films-from-hou-hsiao-hsien-johnnie-to-and-zhang-yimou-receiving-restorations/

Edited July 16 by DiP

[Yihetuan]

3 hours ago, DiP said:

I belive Dylan missed something. Because restoration of the movie from the ORIGINAL film negative was already done last year, and even shown at this year's Far East Film Festival. We can all relax now, and wait for home video announcements in the near future.

 https://thefilmstage.com/films-from-hou-hsiao-hsien-johnnie-to-and-zhang-yimou-receiving-restorations/

That's the same thing posted last year. Look at the date of that article. No new info. That's why Dylan's post struck me as odd but he's usually right on about these things.

 

[PandaPawPaw]

I always fear some of these movies will never get a HD release and the negs will get lost or deteriorate too much.

This film deserves so much better (along with a load more!).

Edited July 17 by PandaPawPaw