Drug War

“Taciturn police commander Zhang leads an undercover drugs team, and in his continuous battle against the ubiquitous drug barons, takes up arms against his arch enemy, Timmy Choi. When he gets hold of Choi, he makes a deal with him: In exchange for his life the young criminal will help the police infiltrate a sizeable drug network. Johnnie To’s first action film on the Chinese mainland is a grubby, realistic-looking glimpse of the work of the narcotics brigade.”
— IFF Rotterdam 2013

“To uses the stylistic and narrative restrictions to his advantage, while cannily casting Hong Kong performers as the criminals and mainlanders as the cops to hint at the social and structural divides in contemporary Chinese culture….All roads converge in a climactic shoot-out that is as exhilarating as it is caustic — a ballet of bullets that effectively obliterates the line separating do-gooders and devils.”
— Keith Uhlich, Time Out

Film Details

Country: Hong Kong

Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese

Year: 2012

Running time: 107 min

Format: Blu-Ray

Director: Johnnie To

Producers: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai

Cinematographer: Cheng Siu-keung

Editors: David Richardson, Allen Leung

Print Source: Well Go USA

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

Modern Cinema’s Founding Supporters are Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. Generous support is provided by Nion T. McEvoy and the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Fund.