Ok, it’s April (almost) so the film for the month is Storm Warriors. I’m watching it…soon. I’m still mesmerized by my 3-D packaging, although my friends over at LoveHKFilm.com suggest that this will be the height of my enchantment with this film. Watch and discuss!
What Girls Want
I used to wonder what a triad movie directed by a woman would be like, and I got my answer with Sylvia Chang’s Run Papa Run. I like the premise of exploring triad life from a different point of view, giving us something we haven’t seen before. So Chang’s subject matter of the tensions between domestic and gang life, as well as her use of direct address to the camera by Louis Koo, was refreshing. In fact, I was really liking this film until I got to the part I didn’t like, namely, how despite his best efforts, the gang life continues to intrude on the domestic life. Which would work for me as a viewer if not for the fact that this wasn’t a story where the wife didn’t know about the husband’s activities (she meets him in the police station–she’s his lawyer). She knew what she was getting herself (and her potential family) into. What did she think was going to happen? Then, the film seems to harp on the protagonist’s failure to reform and change his ways.
I don’t know about other girls, but this girl prefers her triad movies to not insult her intelligence in this fashion. This plays into the stereotypical behavior ascribed to women, i.e. oh, I can change that man. That man is a gangster, and either you are going to be like Andy Lau’s wife in Century of the Dragon and get with the program, or be whiny about how your man is a criminal. Either let gang life take its toll, or work out a compromise: upstanding citizen by day, triad boss by night. But don’t drain the film of its inherent qualities as a film on the triads to fulfill some expectation about what you think women want to see in a triad film. I like triad films because they are triad films: loyalties get tested, people get shot.
Seven Swords (2005)
The first time I watched Seven Swords was on the heels of Tsui Hark’s series version. At that time, I was so enthralled by Vincent Zhao’s Chu Zhaonan that I didn’t really pay too much attention to the movie, but with some time on my hands, I’m giving it my full attention, and I got questions.
The movie requires you to know this story, because it unfolds on the screen so fast. First, funky looking people are whacking villagers, next thing you know, you’re in the mountains with meteors raining down from the sky. But I did like some of the changes Hark made, like making Yuanyin female, because girls can carry swords too.
But I’m most intrigued by Donnie Yen’s Chu Zhaonan being Korean. He wasn’t Korean in the series, and since the world has not seen fit to provide an English translation of the novel both are based on, I have no idea if this is original or of Hark’s own making. In the wuxia genre, outsiders are generally from “the West” or anyplace other than where our heroes originate. Does it make a difference that Donnie is Korean? I think so; it underscores what I guess is supposed to be the character’s aloof nature. He’s all anti, which makes the whole supposed love-relationship with Green Pearl not very believable…..that is, unless you know the story. He’s anti because he’s not from “here” but making him from Korea puts a new spin on who he is as a character. Is it supposed to make him more noble, or more distant?
What I miss is the exploration of the relationships among the brothers, and between Chu and Yang Yunchong. In the movie, they just seem to be hanging out on Mt. Tian, and you don’t get a sense of the brotherhood.
What does remain is the crackaliciousness of the villagers. They are supposed to be righteous, but they would sell out their grandma. Upright swordsmen come to save you, and you accuse them of being traitors. Where’s the love? Village leader willing to whack his own daughter with no proof that she sold out the village. People willing to whack kids (how low!). So much for doing it for the people.
What am I Watching Now?
Well, that’s a good question! I got a load of stuff I assume is on its way, at least that’s what Yes Asia tells me. As soon as I get my hot little hands on my order, we’ll have a new movie to watch…..together!
Why I’m Going to Start Cutting Jackie Chan Some Slack
You know, it wasn’t always like this between Jackie and me. We had a great relationship: Drunken Master, Project A, Supercop, Police Story. Things started to get rocky with the Hollywood movies, and while you can say lots about Rush Hour (I have!), it had its moments and is part of larger Afro-Asian thing. No, Jackie and I officially broke up over that crap better known as Shanghai Knights (although, to be honest, part of that probably has something to do with that fool Owen Wilson). The Forbidden Kingdom did nothing to help our estrangement.
So, you may be asking, why, on the cusp of The Karate Kid, am I reconciling with Jackie? Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect that The Karate Kid will be bad (and if it’s not, I’ll be the first to admit it). But I was recently reminded why I like Jackie Chan in the first place.
I was recently watching Around the World in 80 Days, and in the midst of the highjinks, had to remind myself that Passportout was not Asian in the book. Next thing I know, Sammo Hung is on the screen playing Wong Fei Hung! Anytime you can slide Wong Fei Hung in a movie, I’m game, and I’d like to think Jackie had something to do with it. More importantly, I admit that I miss Jackie Chan’s action work, which I can watch when the racial stereotypes aren’t blocking the view. Yes, 80 Days doesn’t offer deep social commentary, and isn’t even the best action work Jackie Chan has done. But it’s not trying to be. 80 Days is Saturday afternoon B-movie with a crazy expensive budget. And for every 80 Days, there is a Rob-B Hood. And when I look at it that way, Jackie Chan ceases to offend me, or at least, not as much.
So instead of holding my breath for The Karate Kid, I’m getting my DVD player ready for Shinjuku Incident, and hoping that Jackie and I can stay together, whether times are good or bad, happy or sad.
Looking for the Next…..
Ok, so I was surfing the net, and discovered that Jackie Chan had a contest to find an “apprentice” that he would train to be the next big kung fu star in Hong Kong. He chose one guy and some sidekicks who were runners-up I guess. This got me to thinking about the occasional complaining and whining about where the next Jackie Chan or Jet Li or Collin Chou or Donnie Yen or, hold your breath…Bruce Lee, is coming from.
Let’s dispense with the obvious, yes, no one can replace Bruce. But I’d like to talk about the legacy he left, which is the kung fu star that also has personality. C’mon, go back and watch Way of the Dragon. I would argue that the reason why people luv Jackie and Jet is not just for their martial arts prowess, but also for their personalities. They do both. Remember Jet Li in Fong Sai Yuk? He could play a character, and a comedic one at that. Then turn around and be super-serious in Once Upon A Time in China. Same for Jackie Chan, although more on the comedic side. And thanks to directors like Corey Yuen and Tsui Hark for providing vehicles for them to be able to act and do crazy martial arts action. I would say that there are lots of them out there, like the under-appreciated Vincent Zhao (who I hear is supposed to be in a Yuen Wo Ping movie soon–yay), but circumstances are preventing them from coming to the fore. That’s just what I think, I have no evidence to support this claim. 🙂
So I would suggest that we’re not just looking for the next kung fu star, but a kung fu star with personality, that certain something that Hong Kong films used to do well, and maybe not as much of anymore. I’m not one of those who are saying the Hong Kong film industry is irretrievably lost, but I think that it can have more of what it used to have.
Spirit of the Sword (2007)
My quest to see all of the wuxia dramas starring Nicholas Tse continues with Spirit of the Sword. Ok, I don’t hate it, and I don’t not like it, I just think it could be better. I do like the fact that Patrick Tam is in it, which reminded me that I really like Patrick and must watch more stuff that he’s in. I like the story. I’m particularly intrigued with the notion of race and how it impacts how the characters get treated (i.e. oh, you aren’t from the Central Plain, you need to get to steppin!) I like the multiple swordswomen in this one too. And every good wuxia drama needs a good villain. I was almost convinced that the villain was not the villain. How delicious! Despite the subterfuge, I like how the drama committed to the fact that he’s the villain. If you are going to be a villain, you got to be bad, like killing folks family bad, like whacking allies bad, like breaking the brotherhood bad. Woohoo!
But I think it could be better. I’m used to advertising for wuxia dramas misdirecting me..ok, so it’s not really about Nic’s character but his brother. Fine. Oh, its not really about these swords. Fine. But the pacing is slow, and we spend too much unnecessary time on the romance. Now you have to understand that I started watching those 1980s wuxia dramas that are really slow, with lots of monologues about the ever-present romantic triangle and I didn’t mind that. I like the romance, but really, the pacing in Spirit is unnecessarily slow.We know that nobody likes Nic’s character and aren’t thrilled about Gillian Chung’s character’s romance with him, let’s move on, shall we? I also wished they would have spend more time on the reconciliation of the half-brothers. I mean one minute you want to chop him up, and we are supposed to believe you will stand by his side in the final climatic fight? I’m just not buying it, even if it is Nicholas Tse. And then there were parts that were just funny. I mean, how effective is a sword that is almost as big as me?
Would I watch it again? Yeah, but I wouldn’t be thrilled about it.
The Kids Are Not Alright: Beast Stalker (2008)
Ok, time for a brief vacay, but before I go, here’s our film for this month: Dante Lam’s Beast Stalker.
Now, if you watch Hong Kong film, you know that kids are not safe. Anything is liable to happen to them, so you won’t be surprised by the first few sequences of the film. However, I am glad to see, for once, a smart child in a film. None of that whining, or worst of all, doing obviously bad things that just make your bad situation worse.
But, Nick Cheung steals the show. You have to understand, the first film I saw Nick Cheung in was Andrew Lau’s The Duel, where he did a really good job of acting the fool, which is what his role called for. So it’s not without a little bit of pride that I watched his performance in Beast Stalker. It represents his steady rise, with Election and Election 2 as well as Exiled to his credit (we won’t talk about My Wife is a Gambling Maestro–let’s pretend it doesn’t exist, shall we?) And it highlights one of the great things about Asian film in general, namely, the complexity of the villain. Yeah, we know that Nick’s character has a certain moral bankruptcy, but has he really lost all of his humanity? Really? Are you sure? You know you’ve done a good job when I’m a little afraid of you by the end of the film. I’m little afraid of Nick–he’s not the person I’d like to see lurking in the shadows under any circumstances. The same thing happened when I watched Sha Po Lang: I’m a little afraid of Sammo Hung now. And while I could make some comments about Nicholas Tse’s performance (later post on my luv affair with him, really, I’ve watched practically everything he’s been in, I really really like him!), I wasn’t mad at him in this film either. Plus, this film has several good lessons, including watching out for the elderly if you are trying to commit a crime in your apartment.
Overall, I generally like that gritty, urban cop thing that Dante Lam does, so I’m pretty satisfied. Interest piqued? Watch the film and let’s discuss!
Rant!: Butchering that Passes for Editing
One of my greatest pet peeves is having faceless editors make decisions about my viewing entertainment. I hate finding some 20-, 30-, 40-episode wuxia series micronized to 2-hour nonsense. I naively hoped that it was not a trend when the only version of Wind and Cloud with Vincent Zhao available to me was unrecognizable. To my horror, it is a trend: Book and Sword, Buddha’s Palm, The Legend of Hero, just to name a few. If I want to sit and watch five 45-minute episodes back-to-back, that’s my business. If I want to keep up with a ridiculous number of characters, who are editors to tell me I can’t? If I want to get dragged into multiple subplots, no one should stop me. Oh, but it’s not just the series. Why is it that years after declaring Fong Sai Yuk my favorite Jet Li film, I watch a Hong Kong version only to find a musical number? I like musical interludes, and I was robbed!!!
Really, why do the powers-that-be believe they know what English-speakers want? They are often wrong. Why not just give the people what they want? This is where globalization goes horribly awry.
Eagle Shooting Heroes (2008)
It’s quite a statement to say, but I’m going to put it out there: this is my favorite wuxia story EVER! This is the second version I’ve seen (the first was the 59 episode, 1983 version, Legend of the Condor Heroes). Whether its crazy 80s special effects or the more sophisticated fare, what stays relatively the same is the story: dimwitted boy and clever girl.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I revel in seeing Guo Jing act like a moron (but it is fun), but I’m always amazed at how strong Huang Rong is. She is not only smart, she’s clever (it’s not the same thing). Yeah, she’s got problems playing well with others, but wouldn’t you if your father was Huang Yaoshi (more on him later). This the fascinating thing for me and what tends to at least challenge what we think about warrior women in the west (thanks, Maxine Hong Kingston), namely that Rong is in a lot of ways a teenage girl with skills of her own who helps others (namely, Jing!). She’s girly, and she’ll beat you down.
So, yes, giddy to see Rong, but was ECSTATIC to see my boo, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, as Huang Yaoshi. He does indifference like no on else! He comes in and out of the story, but it’s always fun when he shows up. Wong does the character justice, and I just find it fascinating that he has enough sense to teach his daughter kung fu before she goes out in the world (unlike other series–yes I’m talking about you, Men and Legends). I mean, look at the expression on the faces of people when they find out that Rong is the daughter of “Evil East.” On the more intellectual side, however, this father-daughter relationship is rare and brings up interesting questions that, dare I say, may challenge some feminist assumptions? For example, she learns from her father, and yes, the mother is out of the picture, but isn’t his parentage what she eventually needs in the big, bad world?
Still thinking (translation: I reserve the right to wax poetic on ESH in a later post!)
Underrated!: Donnie Yen
A few days ago, I was channel-surfing, and found Highlander: Endgame on. I was delighted to find that this is the one with Donnie Yen in it, well, at least for the about 10 minutes of total screen time he gets. And this got me to contemplating, Donnie Yen is WAY underrated. Yeah, you’ve seen Donnie in films like Highlander: Engdame and Blade 2, but what you might not know is that he is also action director on these films. Who else do you think makes Adrian Paul and Wesley Snipes look cool? You’ve seen the brilliance of Donnie Yen, even when you haven’t seen him.
Yeah, we got Jet Li and Jackie Chan, but where is the love for Donnie Yen? Just like Li and Chan, he did his stint paying homage of Bruce Lee by doing the almost obligatory remake of Fist of Fury, but Donnie has a special place in my heart because is SERIOUS about the martial arts film. Ask Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue, his co-stars in Dragon Tiger Gate. In the special features, all of them do their bit on the film. When Nic and Shawn are asked, “So, how did you like working with Donnie Yen?”, they both get the same look in their faces. Fear? Not sure; both are used to doing action films that require a lot of activity, but they both bowed to the master Donnie Yen, who obviously put them BEYOND their paces. Donnie seems to be on a mission to bring back/keep what made the Hong Kong action film the bomb.
Like I said, he’s serious. In the special features for SPL, he’s choreographing a knife fight. So I’m watching, then realize like 20-25 minutes later, I’m still watching him choreograph the same knife fight! That’s commitment. It’s especially good to see him work with someone on his level, like Collin Chou, because I found myself getting nervous when they went at it in Flash Point. While some of us were longing to see the ultimate cool martial arts match-up in Forbidden Kingdom between Jet Li and Jackie Chan, we may have forgotten the legendary fight between Donnie Yen and Jet Li in Once Upon a Time In China 2. Whee!
So, show some love for Donnie Yen! Get out and watch a film! (Any film will do, but you can skip Empress and the Warriors, it is a complete waste of Donnie’s talents!)
Geeky Love: Densha Otoko (Train Man) (2005)
New month, new film!
See, it ‘s not all gunfights and swordplay. This is movie for the geek in ALL of us, and one of my favorite Japanese films. It’s about a guy, who is a geek, who saves a woman from a rude man on a train (when no one else would, you’ve been there if you’ve traveled on public transportation). He is painfully shy, but ends up working his way into several dates with her. He looks to an online group for help in what to do next and analyzing each of the momentous dates they have. It’s supposedly based on a maybe true story about a guy who chronicled his own experience in a Japanese internet forum.
It’s so funny, and if you are a geek ( or have geek tendencies, or are a “former” geek, or know a geek, or have heard of geeks), you know Train Man’s experience all too well: your tendency to talk about things nobody else knows or cares about (I know that look the lady gives him when he gets all enthusiastic about The Matrix–this happened to me at a research presentation on The Matrix just last week), your tendency to over-prepare for the simplest social events (he scouts out the restaurant for their first date and tries everything, and makes notes and takes pictures!), your tendency to get left out of other social gatherings, etc. And his online friends aren’t the most socially adept people either: a nurse who uses her time to chat online, a teenager who never leaves his room, three guys who hang out in an internet cafe all day every day and a couple who are both in the same chat group, but they don’t know it.
What I like about this film, (in addition to identifying in some ways with its lead), is that it gives us a different take on technology and socializing. Most people decry the internet, texting, and email because it contributes to the further isolation of individuals, but this film shows how technology not only allows Train Man to find a community of like-minded individuals and get help, it also shows how his story then in turn motivates them to change their own lives. You know, it doesn’t matter how unlikely the ending may be, because by that time the film has you so invested in Train Man. So, sometimes, technology can be your friend.
The Young Warriors: The Family That Battles Together…..
I recently finished Young Warriors (aka Young Warriors of the Yang Clan), and it epitomizes what I like about wuxia dramas. Everyone fights! This is the story of the fabulous Yang family, whose sons served the kingdom and eventually gave their lives, even when the fathead king made really bad decisions. This legendary family is known for their loyalty, and apparently have been immortalized in wuxia drama before, but this version focuses on their lives before the questionable leadership of the king takes them all down.
Of course the sons are all upright, righteous guys who help the weak and support the people. I know we are supposed to be in awe of the father and the seven brothers, but really, the mother, wives and girlfriends steal the show (they all dress amazingly well also!). Mama Yang is no joke! She can literally beat her sons down if she had to. But, for the most part, she doesn’t have to. She raised them right. What I find interesting is that she is also very maternal, and doesn’t lose her femininity in the process. It’s an interesting combination. Even when they get into trouble with the king, she’s willing to stand up for them. My favorite part is when the ‘lost son’ finds his way home, thinking he’s going to extract some revenge on his parents while honoring them at the same time? So he’s antisocial to both, but saves the father from some assasination attempt. He goes around talking smack to the mother, the other brothers don’t appreciate that. Then she snaps out of it and basically tells him: you have fulfilled your filial duty to your father, but not to me. He shapes up quick, fast and in a hurry. Later, the ladies don their own armor. How cool is that! And where can I get mine?
The gender dynamics are interesting in other ways as well. When the inevitable tragedy hits the family, and one of the sons, Wu Lang (I’m calling you out!), just can’t handle it, and decides he’s going to ignore his wife and become a monk. While I have to say I’ve seen series often consign women to this fate, it was interesting to see it done to a man. Wu Lang, pull it together!
This is one of my favorites, and will definitely be included in my not-even-started projects on women in wuxia and the kung fu couple.
Burn Baby Burn!: Red Cliff (1 and 2)
Ok, I’ve put it off long enough. Some may be aware of my luv for Red Cliff, and now that I’ve seen the second half, I feel I can speak on it. First, I have to re-declare my fandom for John Woo. Let’s face it, he had us worried with those Hollywood “projects” (Face/Off, Mission Impossible 2). Don’t get me wrong, I liked both of them, but they were no A Better Tomorrow, The Killer or (sigh), Bullet in the Head. David Bordwell has a chapter on Woo in his book Planet Hong Kong called “Enough to Make Strong Men Weep,” and that’s what Woo did to perfection! We know Woo is excellent with the betrayal in the brotherhood theme, but I was not convinced that he handle the sweeping epic. So you can imagine my trepidation: would Red Cliff mark a triumphant return of Woo to Hong Kong film, or just make me cry?
Happy to say, I welcome John Woo back with open arms!!! I taught a class on Asian film, and had them read Three Kingdoms (I’m talking the unabridged, 2200 page version my kids don’t skimp!), and ended the class with Red Cliff 1. I waited to watch it with them, and I did literally jump up and down at the end. (If they want to see Red Cliff 2, they have to take the class next year!) I liked seeing the three brothers (although I still think Liu Bei is still the punkiest of the three; Chang Fei is out of control, my money is always on Gwan Yu), but I really liked seeing Zhuge Liang, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. In the book, yeah, the soldiers are out with the swords, but nothing beats a good advisor by your side, and I like smart, so I was down for Zhuge, especially since he seemed to bring just a little bit of very understated sass to his. And I am very glad that Woo gave more substance to Lady Sun other that inevitable love interest of Liu Bei.
A lot of people are saying that they liked the second one better than the first (apparently, so are the box office profits in China), but I’m going to stand up for the first one. Why? Yeah, we expect to see some spectacular battle scenes and smack talking among generals, but what I liked about the first installment is that you got a sense of these men: Sun Quan, who is so obviously still suffering from “not good enough” syndrome, Zhou Yu and his benevolent and honorable approach to war (doesn’t hurt that Tony Leung plays him, so easy on the eyes), Cao Cao and his shear domination and bad-assness.
So yes, I liked this film, right down to the lovely soundtrack.
Dead on Arrival
Maybe if I get it out I can let it go. I’m not down on remakes, just bad ones. Let’s take some time to see what the remake means. It means that you are taking something that is already out there, and “reimagining” it. Fine, cool, but you have to be ready for the inevitable comparison to previous versions, that’s the price you pay. Pony up!
Let me start by saying I do find things to appreciate in the filmmaking of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. I can’t deny the inherent “coolness” of Tarantino’s stuff. I have found myself on many a day contemplating whether I am the shepherd or the tyranny of evil men. There are still slots open for my own personal set of Crazy 88s. And no one will be able to convince me that Daniel Day-Lewis was not robbed in Gangs of New York. He didn’t play Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, he WAS Bill “The Butcher” Cutting.
My issue comes with the fact that I can’t watch The Departed and not think of Infernal Affairs, and I can’t watch Kill Bill Vol. 1 and not think of Lady Snowblood. Let’s take Marty first. I tried. I tried to watch The Departed. I gave it the college try. And then I had just turn it off. To me, Infernal Affairs is this film built on a certain kind of subtlety. It doesn’t rely on accent laden dialogue to get the point across. It’s a complicated elegance that The Departed entirely lacks. For example, the scene where there is a near miss at the movie theater. In Andrew Lau’s film, there is a building tension when Tony Leung follows Andy Lau down the corridor and around blind corners. There corridors are empty, adding to the tension. Will he turn around? And then the cell phone rings, its sound echoing off the sides of the building. In Scorsese’s film, Leonardo DiCaprio chases Matt Damon down a crowed city street, to a side alley. The scene is shorter, and lacks the tension found in Lau’s film.
While my issues with The Departed have a lot to do with aesthetics, I’ve saved a special place of dislike for Kill Bill, Vol.1. Others more eloquent than I have taken the film to task for various and sundry reasons, but let me add more. My primary issue with Tarantino’s film is that many American audiences look at it and go, “Gee, that’s cool.” My response is: that ain’t new. There are women wielding swords all over Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean film. What is especially troublesome is that Tarantino appropriates from Lady Snowblood and in doing so takes the whole revenge plot out of context. He leaves behind the whole backdrop of shifting political realities in Japan, particularly the conscription of people and misuse of taxes, which underwrites the reasons why the main character has to go on the revenge quest in the first place. And context is key.
Let’s talk a little more about context. If Tarantino really wanted to revolutionize the genre, he would have cast someone not white not blond not blue-eyed as a protagonist in a yellow jumpsuit who beats everyone down, with no status as sidekick, no need for a buddy, and no casting him/her as the villain. He would have culturally corrected the horrendous mistake in casting that sent Bruce Lee to Hong Kong in the first place. But nooooooooooo.
For people who have seen the Asian films that inform these films, but The Departed and Kill Bill, Vol. 1 are dead on arrival.
High Yellow - Asian Popular Culture 