How Johnnie To’s Vengeance, a Hong Kong-France co-production, hit all the right targets

Starring Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Lam Ka-tung and Lam Suet, the 2009 Hong Kong-France co-production brought the best out of both sides

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Johnny Hallyday in a still from Vengeance (2009), a Hong Kong-France co-production directed by Johnnie To and also starring Anthony Wong, Lam Ka-tung, Lam Suet and Simon Yam.

Published: 4:15am, 21 Feb 2025Updated: 5:30am, 21 Feb 2025

This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.

International co-productions, where two or more countries join forces to fund a film, usually end up being less than the sum of their parts. Outside interference can water down an original vision; more often, an attempt to increase the global box office proves incompatible with good filmmaking.

A welcome exception to the rule is the 2009 film Vengeance, a rare co-production between Hong Kong and France that was a late-career hit from veteran Hong Kong writer-director Johnnie To Kei-fung, written by his long-time collaborator Wai Ka-fai.

To brings his usual composure to the action, while actor and singer Johnny Hallyday (1943-2017) adds a dash of French charisma – even while the plot borrows elements from American films such as Taken and Memento.

When his daughter (played by Sylvie Testud) is shot and her family murdered, retired assassin/chef Frank Costello (Hallyday) travels from France to Macau to find their killers and avenge their deaths. But with a bullet lodged in his brain, which is slowly erasing his memory, he needs all the help he can get.

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