Special Feature: Once Upon a Time in China (1991)

My new friend J.P. and I share a love for Hong Kong movies. We are celebrating it with a special double post Siskel/Ebert kind of review for one film. This time around, the film is Tsui Hark’s Once Upon a Time in China. Make sure you head over to his site when you’re done here to read his thoughts on the film. Now back to your regularly scheduled reviews.

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Once Upon a Time in China [黃飛鴻] (1991)

Starring Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Jacky Cheung, Kent Cheng, Yee Kwan Yan

Directed by Tsui Hark

Expectations: High. I love this movie.

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Bravery soaring! Magnanimity overflowing!

It has been at least eight years since I’ve seen this. Back when I was watching nothing but Hong Kong movies with my friends, this was one of our top films. Going into watching this again, I had incredibly high expectations. There was no way it could live up to those kind of hopes, and in some ways it doesn’t, but overall I still really love this film. My tastes have changed over the years and it struck me how old the film felt. It didn’t feel like 1991, it felt more like 1971. That was when it hit me. This movie has more in common at a base level with a traditional Shaw Brothers kung fu flick than I had ever noticed before. The fight choreography and wire work are completely modern, but it has the feeling and the charm of a classic from the Run Run Shaw studio. In this way, Once Upon a Time in China is a look back, while taking a step forward.

The fights are spectacular. They’re what you are here for, and if not, they should be. The umbrella fight early on is quite good, but nothing can prepare you for the final battle in the warehouse involving multiple ladders. Even with the wire-work, the sheer level of acrobatic and physical ability on display is amazing. I remembered this fight a lot better than I remembered the rest of the film because my friends and I used to re-watch this fight over and over back in the day. It’s truly fantastic. I was a little disappointed that Yuen Biao didn’t get more to do in the way of fighting, but as his character was a guy that wanted to learn kung fu, I suppose I can forgive this.

I remember always being kind of bored during the non-fight portions of the film and to some degree I still was. I think I understood the story more than I ever had before, but realistically this movie is not about the plot so much as it is a vehicle for Jet Li to kick-ass as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hung and emerge as the new movie star in town. What interested me this time around was the predominant theme of East vs. West that runs throughout. A number of characters state that “Fists (or kung fu) cannot defeat guns” during the course of the film and this inevitable westernization of China troubles Fei-Hung. How can someone such as himself, so rooted in the old ways, find a place in the new China?

After defeating the remarkable Master Yim (Yee Kwan Yan) and retreating outside, Yim follows Fei-Hung only to be gunned down by American soldiers trying to kill Fei-Hung. In this moment, the reality of kung fu vs. guns hits Wong Fei-Hung and the viewer like a shadowless kick to the face. There is no dignity in a bullet, there is no honor in victory from afar. Masters Fei-Hung and Yim share this knowledge silently as Yim passes on. I could feel the terror in Fei-Hung’s heart as no amount of training can overcome a weapon as deadly as a bullet. A couple of minutes later, Fei-Hung takes this moment to heart and in a final slap in the face to Westernization, he flicks a bullet through the lead American’s head. How badass do you have to be to flick a bullet? Pretty badass. Of course these themes can also be interpreted as Chinese propaganda against America, but where’s the fun in that?

Highly recommended to kung fu junkies.

Now head over to J.P.’s I’m Outta Here Movie Thoughts and check out his companion review!