Johnnie To's latest film "Office" is set for release this September in China. It is adapted from the 2009 stage play "Design For Living," written by and starring Sylvia Chang. Chang will reprise her role in the film, alongside Chow Yun-fat, reuniting these stars from To's 1989 hit "All About Ah Long." Whilst previous reports have said "Office" is a musical, To stated he wouldn't actually classify it as a musical, though there are definitely musical elements in it, including songs and people singing. "I'd still really love to make an actual musical one day, it's something I'm very interested in." American musicals including "West Side Story" and dancehall scenes from the 1930s/1940s are what have influenced him most in this regard. In terms of European influences, he said he's more into films by directors like Jean Pierre-Melville and Sergio Leone since their films contain scenes of pure movement and have a certain musicality to them, elements that are clearly evident in To's action sequences.

 

I asked To whether the almost musical like scene in "Blind Detective" (2013) where two characters dance their way to safety to avoid deadly acid flying through the air was scripted or thought up on set: "Generally I don't storyboard and we don't really prepare in that way, and so a lot of it does happen in the moment, and is improvised, it's just whatever feels right at the time." This improvisatory style has yielded some of the most compelling images in contemporary cinema, which is amazing considering they are largely shot without pre-planning.

 

Johnnie To established his own production company, Milkyway Image, with screenwriter, director and producer Wai Ka-fai in 1996. The Milkyway films are where the majority of To's acclaim and his ascent into the upper echelons of world cinema lie. Initially, the often bleak, dark tone of the crime thrillers made by To and his associates didn't equal box office success. From 1999, they started making lighter comedic fare to balance the bank books. Up to today, To and Wai Ka-fai have continued this method of making commercial films to help fund their more personal films:

 

"If you just make personal films, then your boss and your sponsors start getting very afraid and quite nervous so I find that this is a good balance, being able to make both kinds of film. We can make some money for our bosses with the commercial romantic comedies, but we also get to do our own personal projects, and make the films that we really want to make. I think we are very lucky we can do this, and I hope we can continue this balance."

 

To's narrative style is at times very oblique, preferring to let the audience work out what's happening rather than spell it out for them. This happens especially in the wonderful "Throwdown," (2004), a joyous, life-affirming film about chasing your dreams that mixes comedy, musical-like fight sequences, judo, miraculous moments of wonder, and tragedy, into an unclassifiable brew. The film features Louis Koo, who is slowly turning blind, but the film depicts this so subtly that it is easy to miss this crucial detail on first viewing. Why? To's answer reveals his filmmaking philosophy towards his characters in his more personal films and how important depicting life in all its colours is to him:

 

"I think that if you knew from the very beginning, or made it clear that Louis Koo's character was becoming blind, it would make the story too easy. There are lots of elements about people that you don't see. Somebody could have a lot of problems that you never really see on the surface, especially psychological problems. It is not until you spend a lot of time with them and get to know them that their problems come to the surface and you actually see who they are. Some people do in fact need to see the film twice before they get that he is turning blind, and some people may never realise it because perhaps they don't see it again... I don't really mind if people don't get it the first time."

 

This may be the reason why his films have garnered such acclaim and popularity with both fans and critics. His action set-pieces are meticulous, whilst the characters fighting in them are fleshed out human beings who To empathises with, whichever side of the law they are on.