There's rhyme and reason to Office madness

OFFICE, a movie that deliberates hard truths about corporate culture while distancing itself from established cinematic norms, springs from the fertile imagination of Johnnie To, a director who relishes the opportunity to mix and match genres to create something completely different. His latest boundary-pushing effort is a playful yet sharply-observed musical-comedy-drama about the machinations within a Hong Kong conglomerate.

The film is adapted from Design for Living, a 2009 play by actress Sylvia Chang, who also wrote the script and has a major role as a corporate chieftain trying to rake in the billions for her company by taking it public.

One of the most interesting aspects about Office - apart from the sight of Chow Yun-fat breaking into song - is a decision to forgo actual locations in favour of a stylised production design where buildings and rooms are depicted as see-through grid-like structures, allowing actors to walk-through imaginary walls and doorways.