Q&A: Johnnie To

May 15, 2009 While it is common wisdom to suggest that the Hong Kong film industry is no longer what it was in the days when Shaw Bros. and Golden Harvest ruled the roost, or that the sector is becoming swamped by the influence of mainland China, Johnnie To remains an archetypically Hong Kong director whose star is still on the rise. To is old school Hong Kong in that he is prolific, frequently uses improvised locations and minimalist screenplays, often works on multiple productions at the same time and collaborates again and again with the same cluster of actors and technicians. [...] To's greatest skill is his ability to add extra layers of meaning or impact while working within commercial genres, particularly gangster and comedy films.

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