Dao shi xia shan

... TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

I watch a lot of movies ... so many that the IMDb once tagged me and released me into the wild to see what theatre I would pick.

After reading the other member reviews (thanks guys) I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is that I never read the novel nor did I bring any preconceptions.

What I found was a beautifully filmed, acted, and directed movie which was just daffy and unpredictable enough to hold my attention.

You say PO-TAE-TOE. I say PA-TAT-O.

What others see as a mishmash and fighting among writers and directors I see as a puzzle that the viewer needs to put together.

Recommended.

A benevolent monk is sent to the world of saints and sinners.

While trying to survive, he meets different people with different motives. It's up to him to perceive whom to trust.

Black is sometimes white and white is sometimes black: there's no person completely good or completely bad. Behind the weird circumstances there's always a good reason why someone's on your way.

Anyway, great intro, was really promising. The flow was kinda confusing and sometimes seemed excessive but at the end it made sense.

A heart of a saint will find its way to survive in the world of sinners.

A young monk embarks on an adventurous journey after being expelled from his monastery. As he faces the trials, tribulations and seduction of the real world for the first time, he encounters many masters along the way. Boss Zha, an opera singer with a knack for spears, as well as Zhou Xiyu, a Taoist who knows how to wield a stick.

Boring, however, cool and sometimes even funny, the first half was more pleasant, the drama more involving, the second half lost the dramatic content, became less captivating, focused on the action scenes, the photography and impeccable costumes, it pleases the allegory too, from ancient China, regular, almost cool...

Director Chen is prominent in the business in greater China and not a total stranger in Western film buffs circle. He is somewhat like the legendary Tsui Hark of Hong Kong. Both used to have great moments in the early stage of their career but followed up with commercial-oriented lousy stuff, to the point that both critics and audience know there shouldn't be any expectation before watching their new works.

If "preaching too hard (say, 3 or 4 in a scale of 10)" is considered a flaw of a movie, MONK COMES DOWN THE MOUNTAIN (2015) easily reaches 9 on that scale. What makes it even worse is that such preaching is a weird mixture of Taoism, Buddhism and self-asserting doctrine/mentality of Kung Fu world. Our protagonist, the one who comes down the mountain, is absolutely a Taoism practitioner. Yet this movie title ridiculously calls him a (Buddhism) monk. Would you label a victim of plane crash has died of car accident? Or, describe a dog-walker is having a good time with kitten?

There are too many laughable (not because of the humor) plot, arrangement, performance and dialogue. MCDTM is poorly rendered into something you simply cannot take it seriously. During the long 123 minutes I almost felt like watching a Monty Python flick from 1970s - despite some modern cinematography, choreography and editing.

I couldn't disagree more with the first two reviews. I give it 7/10. I mean I liked it and I watched it 3 times, there is no shame in that and I'm truthful with myself. There is a lot of wisdom in the movie. Of course it's a Chinese movie and there is a lot of beautiful choreography, but if you listen carefully and you practice martial art, you may like it. The movie is about Kung fu, it's an art but it's also about life about philosophy. Of course, I don't agree with all that said in the movie, but most of the time I agree. But again, it'a Chinese movie, if you don't like IPman, Jet li, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee don't watch it. Nevertheless, if you don't like them but you like philosophy and wisdom, you may love it anyway.