Friday, November 09, 2001
Why We Need Kung Fu Films
We live in ominous times. But I have a suggestion on how to fill your life with some real happiness and delight during these dark days: go watch a kung fu film. Yes, watching some serious whacks and chops and leaps through the air are just what this doctor recommends to heal the soul. I don’t want to hear any grief from you baby boomers, who will protest that this is beneath you or just way too darn violent, nor do I want to hear any complaints from you “Greatest Generation” types who say that between preparing for Oprah’s Book Club and watching Regis, you simply don’t have the time. Just think of these films as ballet with a lot more uumph in them. And if you do, you’ll be taken on a journey that will wash away your fears. I’ve been watching them for ages and they continue to astonish and make me high.
Last year’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has been rightly acclaimed as the breakout film that introduced this genre to a wider, American audience. No question it was spectacular and entertaining and it was kinda deep too, in a mystical way. But the highlight here, as in all kung fu films, are the battles. After the first dustup, where the super cool Michelle Yeoh and the super cool, and young, Ziyi Zhang fly around rooftops, the audience I was watching the film with broke out in cheers. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken part in so much communal happiness.
Now, I liked this film “big time,” as our Vice President would say, but the real treasure of this genre is in watching the smaller films. Consider, The Heroic Trio a film that I was turned onto by an underemployed video store slacker. He noticed me browsing through the martial arts section one day muttering that I’d seen all of these films. We started talking about kung fu films and he finally, and mysteriously, said “come back here at 3pm and I’ll give you something that will rock your boat.” And when I had finished watching his...umm...not entirely legal version of the film, I had to concur that The Heroic Trio, now happily available on DVD, is a feast for the eyes. Here you can watch the kick-ass Michelle Yeoh go at it again, with her sidekicks Anita Moi, and the knockout Maggie Cheung, playing triplet sisters separated at birth. These women dook it out with supernaturally evil baby snatchers, ride literally to hell and back on motorcycles, and generally just have a blast. You will too.
Speaking of motorcycles, the end of Super Cop where Michelle jumps onto a moving train with that trusty vehicle of hers is a moment of sheer transcendence. Here she plays a no-nonsense Chinese commie (are there any other kind?) and teams up with the indomitable Jackie Chan to catch some really nasty crooks. Jackie is, as always, great here--he’s our generation’s Buster Keaton--but make sure you see him in some of his other, less hyped films. Revel in The Legend of the Drunken Master where he fights like a demented Popeye fueled with rice wine against this really evil banker. This banker has this amazing ability to slap people around with his foot--something I have tried unsuccessfully to do for years. The finale which takes place in a steel mill will leave you speechless. Watch out Jackie it’s hot in there! As an added bonus, Anita Moi plays Jackie’s step-mother and in one of the great cameos of all time she just goes to town on a man who does not properly identify himself when he knocks on her door. Who hasn’t wished to karate chop someone who has been rude to them? You go girl!
Unfortunately, for you late-comers to this genre, a great kung fu film has just left the Michiana theaters. I’m speaking of Iron Monkey. But don’t despair; it will come to the dollar theaters soon. The Iron Monkey is a Chinese version of Robin Hood determined to alleviate the suffering of the poor, and with only thoughts of purity toward his ex-prostitute sidekick, Miss Orchid...oh forget the plot summary...just watch the magisterial scenes where they chop up the bad guys and then lecture them on how disappointed they are in their corrupted morals. As an added bonus, there’s a food preparation scene that would make Julia Child weep with joy, and a moment where the Iron Monkey and Miss Orchid float through the air to collect a bunch of strewn papers. It is a moment of such weightlessness, such harmony, that I was left dreaming they would fly around my own paper-clogged office and then bring me some of that really good dim sum they were cooking.