Las garras de la Tigresa

'My Young Auntie (1981)' tells the tale of a young woman who marries her much older master - as an act of respect to repay his kindness, rather than romance - and goes to stay with his oldest brother's son after he passes away in order to make sure his inheritance doesn't fall into the hands of his no-good youngest brother, as per his controversial final wishes. Naturally, her nephew-by-marriage is much older than she is, hence the title. In fact, she's about the same age as her nephew's son, even though she's technically his grand-auntie and therefore significantly more senior than him in terms of the family dynamic. Beyond a few expected age-related gags, most of the conflict - and comedy - comes from traditionalism vs modernism. The eponymous auntie represents somewhat of an oxymoron: she's young, but she's old-school. Her college-age grandnephew, who studies English in Hong Kong and is an advocate for being trendy (as well as calling his father "daddy"), clashes with her old-fashioned sensibilities (which much more closely align with those of his dad) and struggles to accept her as his senior. It helps, of course, that she can kick ass like the best of them, capable of putting anyone who calls her a "bumpkin" in their place and holding her own against hoards of horny young men or malicious money-grubbing relatives.

As to be expected from something directed by - and starring - Lau Kar-leung, the fight choreography is absolutely spectacular. It is, of course, the highlight of the entire affair, and it comes to a crescendo in an extended final battle that's totally jaw-dropping in its fast-paced fervour. The athleticism of the performers is nothing short of miraculous, and the direction perfectly frames each and every moment of scrumptious action impeccably. It strikes the perfect balance between one-on-one and one-on-many, hand-to-hand and weapon-to-weapon. It's the kind of stuff that's more ballet than brutal, a precise dance that uses the context of battle to showcase the beauty of its martial arts. There are fun set-pieces elsewhere in the film that make good use of comedic timing within their frenetic action, but it's the propulsive and eye-widening display of Kung fu prowess that is the third act where things really pop off.

Sadly, it also contains the biggest disappointment of the entire affair. The brilliant Kara Wai's Cheng Tai-Nan, the feature's strong-willed and strong-fisted protagonist, spends the second half of the last movement tied up. This is especially frustrating considering how front and centre she is for the rest of the picture, a force to be reckoned with who constantly has the upper hand on the men around her. Having her in the lead role is great not only for female representation (even though there are a couple of moments of objectification), but also for the film as a whole: she's easily the most interesting and commanding character, and - at least prior to the final stretch - she kicks the most butt in the entire movie. To make things worse, the movie takes her out of the equation by having her fall into the role of 'damsel in distress' (albeit stoic 'damsel in distress'), which is really unsatisfying and runs counter to almost everything we've seen before. The last segment of action instead mostly focuses on four old men, three of whom only come into the narrative as it heads into its last segment, and it's just a really odd decision. The director himself takes centre stage during this part of the picture, and it almost feels a little vain for him to do so. However, the fact that he's an established expert martial artist who can impress just as much as - if not more than - the rest of his cast certainly helps alleviate this vibe. After all, if you're going to show off, you better have the skills to do so; Lau Kar-leung certainly does. Still, having the actual hero be out of action for the final bout leaves a notably sour taste in the mouth, no matter how stunning the climactic set-piece is.

However, the film is really enjoyable despite this major flaw. It's light-hearted fun with a nice blend of comedy and action. It's essentially a family drama for its majority, with the unconventional dynamics between its eponymous Auntie and her new relatives providing plenty of opportunity for misadventure before the stakes get more conventional in the siege-based final third. It's a little bit too long for what it is (it's nearly two hours), and its pacing is a somewhat strained. It's very backloaded in terms of its best action, even if there are plenty of entertaining fights sprinkled throughout its first half, and there's a sense that it's spinning its wheels somewhat during its midsection. Some of its humour works well, but quite a lot of it falls fairly flat. A few of its characters, particularly the grandnephew, are rather annoying for a lot of its runtime, too. Plus, the subtitles on the version I watched included an unpleasant surprise in the form of a homophobic slur. I'm not sure if that's present in all versions or if that's even what's actually said, but I'm not a fan regardless. The nicer surprise is a cameo from Gordon Liu, who not only wears a regular wig but also wears a big fluffy wig when his character dresses up for a masquerade party. Ultimately, this is an entertaining and engaging martial arts movie that has some issues but mostly overcomes them. It isn't as emotionally engaging or as pacy as the best in its genre, but it's fun enough for what it is and includes some stunning fight sequences.

This film is a fine example of why the Shaw Brothers are among the finest directors (probably the best in the Kung Fu category). The movie is well paced, the story is excellent and intriguing, and while the humor may not be in your face, it is nested within the character interactions. Once the story builds up, and the characters begin to assess the situation does the whole tower come crashing down in one of the best fight scenes (tiger, crane and crab Hung Gar are very present). There is even a scene that mocks 18th century Western social events, and ends with clever and entertaining fighting. The movie ends with a sudden, cheesy moment, but if you are a fan of the Shaw Brothers, you'll understand that the cheese is just a topping, and not the main course of the movie.

My Young Auntie kind of disappointed me, because I feel like almost all the comedy fell flat, and it really dragged, having a two-hour runtime and not filling it very well. It was at its most tedious when it shifted away from action and did its best to be funny. From about the 15-minute mark to the start of its second hour, I found it particularly hard to stay engaged. The humor not landing might be a me thing, though, because I rarely find the comedic beats in old martial arts movies funny. Even something like Drunken Master II, which has some of the best action I've ever seen, has comedy that kind of constantly falls flat (My Young Auntie's director, Chia-Liang Liu, co-directed that one, though I think Jackie Chan kind of took over directing duties there).

But, to be fair and get a little more positive, there is good action to be found in My Young Auntie. For that, it certainly wasn't bad overall. I just found there was a good deal of not-great stuff to wade through (and, at points, honestly endure) in order to get to the good stuff. The opening scenes are solid, and much of the action in the final act delivers, but the hour in between those parts of the film? I found it to be a bit of an endurance test.

I am a Shaw Brothers fan, but they made some standout great movies, and some crappy waste of time movies. I had to force myself to log on to IMDb after watching this garbage trash of a film just to not make the mistake of watching it again by accident. If I remember the title of this movie 10 years from now it would only be because of how bad it is.

Challenge of the Masters is another one I remember but being a waste of time.

My favorite SB movies so far are:

Mad Monkey Kung-Fu Return to the 36th Chamber Clan of the White Lotus Legendary Weapons of China Heroes of the East Executioners from Shaolin

Any one of those movies if you have not seen them already is worth watching over this one because they have more substance and better fight scenes. This one movie is purely about fighting (as are some other SB films I don't like- and the fighting is unrealistic and has dislikable choreographed fights)

I'd recommended that you don't watch My Young Auntie before spending more time on the films of Shaw Brothers , Chan Chen, and Chia-Liang Liu, from the late 70s and early 80s.

There is so much to be appreciated in this movie; the story, choreography, and cast that is (or could be) better appreciated when you get all the usual kung fu fair under your belt and get to see the cast in much light-hearted roles than usual.

This isn't an East vs East, clan vs clan, mysterious white bearded villainous master driven tale. The simplest (and forgive me for maybe not the most accurate) way to describe this film is if the team behind the production wanted to make My Fair Lady and West Side Story with a Kung Fu take.

The fact that that there is no killing or brutal acts makes for a different type of fighting and choreography that revels in the skill and ingenuity of the performers involved.

It truly deserves its place in the top tier of Kung Fu movies.