Vengeance () is a 2009 action thriller film co-produced and directed by Johnnie To, and written by Wai Ka-Fai. It stars Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Michelle Ye and Sylvie Testud. The film tells the story of Francis Costello, a French chef and former assassin whose daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren are attacked by a gang of Triads. Costello travels to Macau to embark on a quest for revenge, enlisting the aid of three hitmen. The film explores the themes of assassination, violence and the influence of Triads in modern society.Johnnie To (Director). (2009). Vengeance [Motion picture]. Hong Kong|France: Milkyway Image. Produced by Milkyway Image, the film was released by ARP Sélection in France, and Media Asia Films in Hong Kong.
The idea of To directing an English-language film originated with ARP co-founders Michèle and Laurent Pétin, who had Alain Delon in mind for the lead role. In 2006, after Delon turned down the role, the Pétins recommended Hallyday, who was cast in the lead role after meeting with To in early 2008. Principal photography began in November 2008, and concluded in January 2009; filming took place on locations in Hong Kong and Macau, with a crew mainly based in Hong Kong.
Vengeance competed for the Palme d'Or at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in France on 20 May 2009. The film was later released in Hong Kong on 20 August 2009. It premiered in North America at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Vengeance was met with positive reviews, with several critics praising To's direction, Hallyday's performance, the cinematography and editing. During its theatrical run, the film grossed over US$1.3 million worldwide, having been released in Asia and parts of Europe. In the United States, the film was distributed by IFC Films, which made it available as a video-on-demand selection on pay television formats. The film was nominated for Best Original Film Score at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Plot
In Macau, three men break into a house, shoot Irene Costello (Sylvie Testud) and kill her husband and two children. Irene's father, Francis Costello (Johnny Hallyday), arrives to visit his daughter who is now suffering from serious injuries. She is nevertheless able to tell her father that there were three shooters and that she shot one of the killers in the ear. At a hotel, Costello meets Kwai (Anthony Wong), Chu (Lam Ka-Tung) and Fat Lok (Lam Suet), a trio of hitmen who are hired to murder the unfaithful wife of Triad crime boss George Fung (Simon Yam). After overhearing the murder in a hotel room, Costello reaches an unspoken agreement to walk away. Costello later tracks down Kwai's syndicate and asks them to help him avenge his daughter's family's deaths in exchange for huge payment and even the ownership of his own restaurant. Before doing so though, he takes a Polaroid picture of each of the hitmen, and writes their names on the pictures so that he will not forget who they are due to his memory problem. The four go to the apartment where the shooting occurred and work out what happened, the number of shooters and the weapons used.
The four visit a landfill to meet Kwai's cousin Tony, who supplies illegal arms. Tony tells them that he "sawed off" a matching weapon for a Hong Kong hitman who works on Seafood Street. As the four men reach the street, they see a man with a bandage over his ear. However, they see only two men. Kwai's syndicate decide to wait until the men lead them to the third attacker. The two suspects head towards the countryside as Kwai's syndicate follows.
The two men later reach a nature reserve as the third killer shows up. The trio meet their wives, their kids and Kwai's syndicate during a barbecue. After a tense standoff, they explain that they killed Costello's grandchildren because the children had seen their faces. Not wanting to start a shootout in front of the three attackers' wives and children, everyone waits until they have left. A moonlit gun battle ensues, with both sides suffering injuries. The three attackers flee, while Costello and Kwai's syndicate take refuge at a run-down apartment in Hong Kong to treat their wounds. Costello reveals that he is a former assassin and has had a bullet in his head for twenty years, which is affecting his memory.
Shortly after they have tended to their wounds, Kwai receives a phone call from triad boss Fung, who informs him that three of his men need help, and are with an underground non-registered doctor known as "Old Five". Fung tells Kwai that his men were attacked by three Chinese men and one white man. The four men realize that Fung ordered the hit on Costello's daughter and her family. They head to the dwelling and kill the three attackers but leave Old Five alive, who telephones Fung reporting what had happened. Fung then contacts Kwai, explaining that Thompson Cheung Chi-shun, Costello's son-in-law, was handing over Fung's financial reports to the police, and that he only ordered his men to kill the parents. Kwai replies that his syndicate has switched their loyalty from Fung to Costello as a matter of honor.
Later that night, Fung sends more killers to Kwai's refuge in order to eliminate Kwai's syndicate. A gunfight ensues, with the four men emerging victorious. As they escape, Kwai's syndicate lose track of Costello, who is walking through a crowded street, seemingly lost in the night rain. He pulls out the Polaroid pictures that he took of the hitmen earlier, and tries to find them in the crowd. They meet again, but it becomes evident that Costello has a problem with his memory, and has rapidly forgotten who his friends are, but also what he is doing. The hitmen try to explain to Costello that he is seeking revenge for his daughter, but Costello does not recognize her, nor does he understand the concept of revenge. The three men give up in despair, and take him to a beach where they meet Kwai's friend, Big Mama (Michelle Ye), a pregnant woman with a group of children. Kwai gives her a stack of money and ask her to take care of Costello. Kwai's syndicate return to Macau because they lost contact with Kwai's cousin Tony who supplies their ammunition. When they reach the landfill where Tony is living, they find him and his partner dying as they were tortured by Fung and his gang. Soon, a large group of assassins sent by Fung show up and a gunfight ensues. Kwai, Chu and Fat Lok are killed. Costello and Big Mama learn of the shootout during a news report. Later that night Costello has a vision of the 3 Hitman and Irene in the afterlife, implying his daughter died of her injures and also reminding him of his mission for revenge against Fung.
The next day, Fung is having tea in a public square surrounded by his subordinates. He sees a beautiful woman (actually is Big Mama) having tea in the same square. As he tries to get her attention, a large group of children come asking him to buy charity stickers. The children place stickers on Fung and his men. Big Mama leaves the square and meets up with Costello, then tells him that the man back in the square with the most number of stickers is Fung. Costello thanks her, makes his way to the square and begins to shoot a great many of the guards as well as Fung as chaos ensues. However, Fung turns out to be wearing a bulletproof vest. His subordinates help him run away from Costello, who gives chase on foot. As Costello walks, he checks the bystanders for stickers, which tips Fung off to the fact that Costello does not actually recognize him, apart from the stickers he is wearing. Fung removes the stickers from his coat, and puts them on the jacket of a subordinate instead. This causes Costello to shoot Fung's subordinate. Fung then removes his coat with all the stickers and runs off.
Costello picks up the trenchcoat and shoots more subordinates who get in his way. Fung is finally the last surviving member, so he attempts to walk nonchalantly by Costello, relying on the Frenchman's inability to recognize him without the coat, but as he is walking by, Costello sees a sticker on Fung's tie. Both men shoot at each other. Fung is hit and Costello demands that he put the coat on, which Fung refuses, so Costello shoots him in the leg. Fung puts the coat on, Costello checks the bullet holes in the coat and sees that they align with the bullets stuck in the bullet-proof vest he was wearing. Costello then stands up and fires a round into Fung's head, killing him. Costello is last seen eating and laughing with Big Mama and her children.
Cast Johnny Hallyday plays Francis Costello, a retired assassin turned chef. The character is named after Jef Costello, the lead character played by Alain Delon in Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film Le Samouraï. Anthony Wong plays Kwai, a Hong Kong hitman who agrees to assist Costello during his visit to Macau. Lam Suet plays Fay Lok, Kwai's partner in crime. Lam's voice is dubbed by Conroy Chan. Gordon Lam plays Chu, another one of Kwai's partners in crime. Lam's voice is dubbed by Terence Yin. Simon Yam plays George Fung, the film's antagonist. He is a crime boss of Lok, Chu and Kwai. Other cast members include Sylvie Testud as Irene Costello-Thompson, Costello's daughter; Michelle Ye as Big Mama, a pregnant woman who aids Costello in his fight for revenge; and Vincent Sze as Mr. Thompson Cheung Chi-shun, Irene's husband and the father of her two children. Eddie Cheung, Berg Ng, Felix Wong appear as Python, Wolf and Crow, a trio of hitmen hired to kill Irene and her family. Maggie Shiu plays Inspector Wong, a Hong Kong police inspector, and Alan Chui Chung-San as George Fung's bodyguard.
Production
Crew Vengeance is a FrenchHong Kong co-production between Hong Kong company Media Asia and French distributor ARP Sélection. The film was produced by Milkyway Image, the Hong Kong independent production company founded by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai. The film reunites To and Wai, following their collaboration on the 2007 Hong Kong film Mad Detective. The crew for Vengeance were based mainly in Hong Kong, and were previous contributors of To's previous films: Cheng Siu-Keung served as a cinematographer; Stanley Cheung served as a costume designer; during post-production Martin Chappell served as a sound editor, while David Richardson served as the film's editor; Lo Tayu composed the film's score, having done the same for To's previous films, Election, All About Ah-Long and The Big Heat; Nicky Li, a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team served as an action choreographer.
Development "Since a few years ago, I’ve had this hope to do movies with people outside of Hong Kong, because I feel this exchange is good for me. Also, I wanted to bring more people to Hong Kong to make movies. I think that’s very interesting. This project is from France so it gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted to do."—Director Johnnie To on making Vengeance. Having distributed several of To's films in France, Michèle Pétin and her husband Laurent discussed the idea of having To direct an English-language feature film. In March 2006, the Pétins met To in Sai Kung Town, Hong Kong, where they expressed their idea to him. The couple mentioned Alain Delon as a possibility for the lead role.