Out of Competition: “Triangle” by Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, and Johnnie To

Screened out of competition in this 60th festival, Triangle is the result of a first-time collaboration between Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnnie To, supreme masters of Asian
cinema. Each of them directed a segment of the film, based on an action-packed and electrifying adventure quest they imagined as a team. It involves the characters Sam, Fai, and Mok, three
penniless pals, a gang of thugs, and a ceremonial robe embroidered with gold threads, the object of everyone’s desire. The three buddies must choose between survival, greed, and
friendship…

Speaking of how they approached this unusual film, Tsui Hark explained: “Our serial contains three parts. Together, they would make up one cohesive story. We agreed not to intervene with each
other’s creative ideas or narratives. Each director had absolute control over what he wanted to do, and hopefully our joint efforts would result in an exciting and entertaining film.
(…) I chose a theme people could relate to: the power of money.”
Johnnie To added: “For my part of the film, my interest lay mainly in the following dilemma: What price do you pay for your desire and obsession? In the story, we see the three main
characters tangled up in one dangerous situation after another. All this for the promise of a better life.”
Last, Ringo Lam told of his own intentions for this exercise in style: “Triangle is a story that depicts how fate tests our heroes. I’m particularly interested in
Sam’s character’s obsession with his wife. She is a woman who is capable of showing love and hate at the same time. She embodies the qualities of both good and evil. (…) His
story is very much a metaphor of my attitude towards filmmaking: It is always a love-hate process.”

Photo copyright AFP