Friday, 27 March 2015

Once Upon a time in China

A Touch of Zen (1971)

Written and directed by King Hu this film stars Hsu Feng, Shih Jun, Pai Ying amd Roy Chiao. An unambitious artist/scholar has his life turned upside down by a fugitive on the run from corrupt government officials.

This film has a huge reputation and while I'm not sure it's one of the all time greats it's certainly entertaining throughout it's over 3 hour run time. Elements of the story, especially the ending, hint at Buddhist themes but I am not sure these are fully realised beyond the action/adventure story. There is some use of symbolism and the sets/locations no doubt inspired more modern Wuxia films that you are probably more aware of.


4/5

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