PTU (aka PTU: Police Tactical Unit). 2003. Directed by Johnnie To

Film

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PTU (aka PTU: Police Tactical Unit). 2003. Hong Kong. Directed by Johnnie To. Courtesy Mei Ah Entertainment Group

PTU (aka PTU: Police Tactical Unit). 2003. Hong Kong. Directed by Johnnie To. With Simon Yam, Lam Suet Lam, Maggie Siu. 35mm. Courtesy Mei Ah Entertainment. In Cantonese; English subtitles. 88 min.

Hong Kong’s streetscape has been central to Johnnie To’s visual and social milieu, and with PTU, he reimagines the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui district as a noirish land of lawlessness. A small patrol squad of PTU (Police Tactical Unit) officers, led by Mike (Simon Yam, a dazzling and ambiguous presence), spends one frantic evening covering up for a detective (Lam Suet, a reliable scene-stealer) who has lost his pistol. To transforms the eerily quiet streets into a dramatic stage for power plays and double-dealing. Time and space expand, freeze, and contract as cops and thugs converge in a shootout finale—one of To’s most electrifying set pieces—infusing this crime thriller with a quirky, meditative pulse. PTU exemplifies To’s unique talent for using meticulously designed spatial and temporal architecture to represent complex psychological interplay.

This film accompanies Chaos and Order: The Way of Johnnie To.

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MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

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MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

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