Exiled (2006)<\/h3>\n
To\u2019s 1990s crime films played out like neat French policiers.<\/em> But Exiled<\/em> is more Italian in style, with the classical cinematography and Grand Guignol (bloody and dramatic) scenes evoking Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s The Godfather<\/em>.<\/p>\n Together with art director Tony Yu Hing-wah, To managed to give Exiled<\/em> the opulent look of a \u201cbig picture\u201d even though it was shot on a relatively small budget.<\/p>\n \u201cTo uses the minimalist plot as a springboard for some of the most beautifully choreographed gun battles in Hong Kong cinema,\u201d noted Post critic Paul Fonoroff. \u201cThe muted palette and fluid camera movements of cinematographer Cheng Siu-keung are possibly the year\u2019s most awe-inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n To manages to keep things unpredictable, adding enough surprises, diversions and plot reversals to set Exiled<\/em> squarely in his eclectic oeuvre. The story is typical To, taking a triad plotline and bending it out of shape.<\/p>\n After a tense shoot-out in which no one is killed, the four band together to help him, even if Yam\u2019s gangster boss refuses to let him off the hook.<\/p>\n The action scenes are shrouded in darkness and edited together at a mercurial pace. The flashes from guns are often the only way of knowing from where a shot was fired in the barely lit locations.<\/p>\n
![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2025\/11\/27\/1e31e351-e427-4d2d-84bc-e27b31fba93c_9f27f3e7.jpg\" "\\"Anthony")
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