White-collar war zone

Hong Kong action filmmaker Johnnie To swaps gunfights for gossip, chase scenes for commutes and body counts for deadlines with Office. Xu Fan reports.

Johnnie To is legendary for shoot-'em-up action thrillers, but the biggest explosion he's bringing to Hong Kong filmmaking is the news that his most expensive movie ever will be about - wait for it - office workers.

That's right.

Not cops and robbers, but bosses and employees.

No guns. No bombs. No fistfights.

Instead, expect e-mails, gossip and deadlines.

Crushing commutes instead of high-speed chases.

But the 60-year-old director of the underworld Election franchise and cops-and-robbers flick Drug War (the best-grossing film from the genre in the mainland market) explains this doesn't mean Office won't have action.

"I've shot many gunfights and mafia crime scenes," he says.

"It's time to try something new. Offices are battlefields, but without actual fires. People hoping to advance are entangled in schemes, traps and betrayals."

To is tapping a topic that speaks to mainland urbanites' heart yet the market has paid it little mind.

It's arguably a bold move for an international festival favorite. (He's often invited as a nominee or jury member.)

After directing nearly 60 titles in 35 years, To wants to step outside his comfort zone.

He doesn't believe this shift presents a risk to the 100-million-yuan film's investors.

"All I do is my best to not fail the boss," he says in his signature suit, lighting a cigar.

The crew spent 40 million yuan to build an actual office. The cast includes such icons as Chow Yun-fat, Tang Wei, Taiwan author-actress Sylvia Chang and Cantopop sensation Eason Chan.

The movie is inspired by Chang's namesake stage play. Chang also wrote the film script and stars as its lead.

The play premiered to a sold-out house in Hong Kong in 2008. It was performed more than 200 times over the following two years on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and foreign markets.

"I didn't think much about it when To said he was interested in a film adaptation," Chang recalls.

"But when he said he'd been waiting three years for the screenplay, I realized he was serious."

The film was shown at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival and will hit the Chinese mainland's theaters on Sept 2.

Liu Yanming, president of the movie's major investor, Hairun Media, says it's trying to tap China's zeitgeist.

It's worth creating a big-screen chronicle of the stressful commutes and office life faced by the burgeoning white-collar population that has proliferated in pace with the country's skyscrapers as the economy surges, To believes.

Legend has it Hong Kong's crime thrillers once performed so well because filmmakers had real-life underworld connections.

"Gangs flourished when Britain ruled Hong Kong," he says.

"The underworld's dramatic realities - brotherhood, unlikely heroes and turf wars - lend themselves to film."

To believes the mainland can explore its own history of organized crime - Shanghai was a hotbed of gangs during the Republic of China (1911-49), for instance.

But for now, he's trying another approach to appealing to the mainland with Office.

"Because of limited budgets and small markets, Hong Kong filmmakers have no choice but to cater to the mainland," he says, smiling.

"After all, Hong Kong films are a part of Chinese cinema. Other cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are culturally unique, too."

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn