REVIEWED - ELECTION/HAK SE WUI PAST and present values are set on a collision course that triggers an escalating body count in Election, which charts the fierce rivalry between the two candidates for chairmanship of a triad society. Selected for competition at Cannes last year, this is one of those rare action movies that is primarily contemplative and discursive, expending most of its duration in exploring the motivation and modus operandi of its protagonists.

At one point, the movie takes on the form of a history lesson, tracing the roots of the triad societies back to 17th-century China, when they existed to protect the people, and contrasting that tradition with their operations in present-day Hong Kong. Sharing Margaret Thatcher's opinion that "there is no such thing as society", the triads have abandoned their former codes and been consumed by corruption, greed and lust for power.

Election is rooted in the internecine conflict between rival factions as two men compete for the imminent vacancy at the head of Hong Kong's oldest and largest triad, the Wo Shing Society. Lok (Simon Tan) is an ostensibly reasonable family man, while Big D (Tony Leung Kai-Fi) is a loose cannon who, in an early scene, orders a minion to eat a plate and boasts that bird flu won't stop him smuggling truckloads of frozen chickens.

There are no heroes here, and almost no women, and when one woman gets in the way of a candidate's plans, she meets as violent a death as any of the many men murdered as the power struggle continues. As directed by Johnnie To, a 25-year veteran of Hong Kong cinema, Election is a sleek and stylish production, although it gets confusing as it juggles the fortunes of so many characters with various quirky nicknames such as Big Head, Cocky, Jet, Ice, Whistle, Four Eye, Sparky and Fish Ball.

To's sequel, Election 2, was screened at Cannes in May and opens later this year.