Triad trouble, family bonds and political tension collide in
The Mobfathers, a dark gangland epic from Hong Kong’s prolific Herman Yau. At the centre is Chuck Lam (producer Chapman To), a division head under the large Jing Hing gang who winds up in jail after a bloody street brawl, then leaves prison several years later to find himself swept up in a messy gangster election.
It’s time for Jing Hing to elect a new Dragon Head – a leader who can oversee the day-to-day running of the gang and the operation of its branches – and the ailing godfather (Anthony Wong) gathers a small committee to nominate a couple of candidates for another group to vote on. Flamboyant ex-cop Wulf (Gregory Wong) is pushing hard for the job, and soon Chuck, too, is vying to win Jing Hing’s exercise in “skin-deep democracy.”
As the process escalates through turf battles, secret deals with the police and electioneering,
The Mobfathers joins other recent pictures combining genre thrills with social comment. Hong Kong’s current divisions make an early showing when Chuck points out that even a trip to buy groceries involves politics.
Hot-topic references course through the triad election: the concept of the gang’s nomination committee picking candidates for a small-circle election draws on the current Hong Kong system for electing the city’s leader, plus aspects of the failed official proposal for the coming election cycle.
Throw in as well ideas like that of a central authority deliberately choosing a flawed candidate, and feuding factions that may reflect splits in the establishment, and Yau’s picture makes for meaty local viewing.
While Hongkongers are offered plenty on the political front, Yau never drops the ball on serving up cinema for mass appeal, no matter whether viewers are following Hong Kong current affairs or not. The team of Yau, To and co-writer Erica Li, who together delivered the social drama
Sara last year, smartly ensure that
The Mobfathers can work well as a straight triad saga, replete with the fierce showdowns, shadowy allegiances and colourful figures expected of the genre.
Clearly made without an eye on mainland China release, the rough-edged film pushes up sleaze and ultra-violence (the adults-only Category III rating is deserved), and it offers a central sympathetic anti-hero unlike the blunt depictions of wrongdoers more common in Hong Kong-mainland co-productions.
Chuck has the requisite skills with a chopper and faces off strongly in factional battles, but shown too is a family side, as he struggles at home to reconnect with a son he didn’t see for years, helps out in getting the kid into a good school and more.
Chapman To brings an easy-going manner to the multifaceted role, moving from fun episodes behind bars to far bolder material as his election drama escalates. Opposite him Gregory Wong entertains as a flashy and smooth operator, Anthony Wong commands attention as the sinister, raspy-voiced gang chief pulling the strings, and a fine cast of supports round out the picture.
The Mobfathers may not be the most polished entry in the triad-movie canon, but for devotees of Hong Kong film’s grittier side it’s an encouraging work. Through it, Herman Yau and his collaborators have reconfirmed their efforts to keep local genre film traditions alive and support Hong Kong cinema’s socially conscious side too.