Un toque de zen

I came upon this film by accident, I looked for it on video, someone offered me a second generation copy for US$80! No thanks, then by magic it came up on digital TV in the UK, 3 months after I had started to look for it!

I saw the widescreen/subtitled 177 mins version, although it is 3 hours long it is not boring, it keeps your attention throughout. The fight sequences I did not find particularly thrilling except for the monks (they were exceptional). The film is a little too dark, not enough sunshine. The photography is excellent especially given the film was made in '69. You can see the similarity with the modern day "crouching tiger hidden dragon" Ang Lee has said he was inspired by this film. If you ever get a chance to see this make sure you do.

Hsia Nu is not only one of the most remarkable martial arts movies one could imagine, but in any sense a most remarkable film. I at least am unable to name many other three hour long movies which I have not found slightly lengthy (not to say boring) at some stage. Moreover Hsia Nu is the kind of film one definitely would want to watch on the big screen of a cinema, something rather rare as far as martial arts films are concerned and generally rare for anything not an extremely expensive super-production.

Its panoramic nature sequences have not only esthetic value, but are also symbolically relevant. In fact if one wanted to do this, it would be possible to interpret the whole movie as an allegory of human existence. Fortunately there is really no need to get out the heavy guns of symbolism and artistic value to convince oneself that Hsia Nu is a great movie. It is gripping and entertaining, amusing and serious, and infused with a pathos hardly ever encountered in European (or American) movies. Pathos of course is something difficult to handle, but the director and cast of Hsia Nu manage it very well. The film has its deliberate light moments, but it never invites laughter at its moments of pathos.

Of course we are talking here about a martial arts movie. And indeed, the fighting sequences are brilliantly done - there definitely has been no progress since 1969 - but there is not only that. There is in fact not all that much fighting if one considers that this is a three hour film, and the fights do not carry the plot. In some sense Hsia Nu resembles more a Japanese samurai drama than what we more customarily associate with the Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts genre.

The plot is very long and complex - though perfectly understandable, and even logical - therefore I do not see any real interest in retelling it here. Suffice to say that it contains most principal human emotions: loyalty and treason, love and revenge, hunger for happiness and for...enlightenment. The acting is brilliant, and especially a more masterly 'great master' character, a monk in Hsia Nu, would indeed be difficult to find in any martial arts movie.

If anybody is not convinced by the merit of the martial arts genre and just wants to give it a sole and unique chance, then this is the movie that might convinced such a snob that cinematographic 'art' is not necessarily grey, quiet and slow, but can be colourful, vibrant and full of pathos.

To think that I used to accuse King Hu of doing injustice to the wuxia genre with boring storytelling and slow action, I must have been on crack at the time--as his best works completely transcend elements of conventional film-making. In A TOUCH OF ZEN, It's not the story or the action that stands out; although they are part of the system, they are secondary to the theme of spiritual enlightenment, which is what counts in Buddhist philosophy. When the abbot confronts the East Chamber agent, the art of combat is strictly utilized by the abbot to guide the agent to "put down his sword, and attain peace with Buddha." There is a haunting sight when the bookworm scholar is amused by his tactic which fooled the agents. He thinks he has reached the peak of perfection, but then he sees dead bodies lying around who have suffered from his tactic, and the only thing on his mind is a woman whom he lusts. As book-smart as he is, he still suffers from worldly affair like everyone else. Only at the end when he accepts Buddha is he able to live in peace.

Aside from the philosophical points, ZEN also scores strongly in establishing mood, suspense, and fascinating visuals. The Jiang Hu in this film feels incredibly authentic, and the rich mise-en-scene is refreshing compared to the limited Shaw Bros studio offerings. I loved the photography throughout; it beautifully captures the spiritual wonder of ancient Orient. In framing still shots, King Hu chiefly employs medium and medium close-ups, mounting his camera at an upward angle so we can always see beyond the characters, perhaps to suggest existence of higher wisdom.

One observation I would like to propose is that although ZEN is probably a milestone in Chinese cinema, it would be a minor masterpiece compared to the best works from 60s Japan. The lush photography and haunting images from KWAIDAN come to mind as a comparison. No doubt, King Hu also learned a few tricks from the likes of Kurosawa, such as pointing his camera at the sun which occurs frequently in ZEN.

[9/10]

For UK DVD viewers, this genre classic is finally available to own. Optimum's print is not perfect (slightly dim in places), and you can't turn off the giant subtitles (should you want to), but at least we can see the full version of King Hu's masterpiece. Anybody seriously interested in martial arts cinema must seek out a copy, since it represents one of the most elegant examples of its type, a few years before the international success of Asian fight flicks proliferated a slew of poorly dubbed, re-edited versions for Western markets, solidifying the stereotype of "chop-socky" films as plot-free, laughable foreign commodities. A Touch of Zen builds up for almost a full hour before so much as a punch is thrown. The story is narrow, but complex, and King Hu takes time to create atmosphere, and a sense of place and time which is often taken for granted in other period epics. Oh yes, and the fight scenes are great.

A Touch of Zen (1969) has to be one of the best films ever made. I am one of those people who can never truly name a personnel favorite film. I feel that there isn't a film that you can say is the best ever. I still do but if I had to say five or ten, A Touch of Zen would have to be in the top five. I haven't felt this way about a movie since I saw The Seventh Seal. I love this movie. Everything from the beautiful photography down to the deepness of the picture. The acting is superb, the writing is top notch and the direction is flawless. The film has everything you could want in a movie; action, drama, and comedy. The soundtrack is haunting and the wire work is amazing. No wonder why so many movies have copied off of this film (notably Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix Trilogy). Unlike those other films this movie will withstand the test of time

P.S.

This movie is awesome. A magical experience caught on celluloid. A true treasure.