Vengeance

Johnnie To’s highly-anticipated 2009 thriller Vengeance saw him teaming with Johnny Hallyday, the man credited with bringing rock ‘n’ roll to France, for the dark tale of a French chef and former hitman who sets out to avenge the slaughter of his family in Hong Kong. The French–Hong Kong co-production played in competition at Cannes, and has all the hallmarks of classic To cinema, including immaculately-choreographed balletic shoot-outs, moody cityscapes, and a cast packed with frequent collaborators including Anthony Wong, Gordon Lam and Simon Yam. At the same time, the genius casting of Hallyday and the film’s French connection sees To delving further into the noir genre, making for a fascinating cross-cultural depiction of loyalty, gangs and assassins.