Ai nu

A woman learns martial arts to assassinate the men who raped her. She uses sexual wiles to get close to them. A memorable scene is where one of her victims is wary, having heard of the deaths of several colleagues. She reassures him that she cannot be the assassin. She takes off her clothes to show she is carrying no weapons. He fails to notice that her hair is held up by a large pin...

'Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan (1972)' isn't a typical Shaw Brothers picture. Although its wider narrative arc and colourful period aesthetic fit neatly within the studio's oeuvre, its content is far more unsettling. Focusing on a young woman who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution, the film has no hesitation about unsettling its audience. Our hero is imprisoned, beaten, raped and generally forced to do things she doesn't want to do. It's genuinely hard to stomach at times, and even the freeze frames that accompany the most graphic moments of abuse do little to dilute their distressing nature. The piece really does act as a damnation of its central situation, displaying the unfortunate reality of the world's oldest profession. Crucially, though, it isn't against sex work itself, at least not explicitly. Instead, its issues are solely with non-consensual sex work, as evidenced by the fact that it doesn't judge the protagonist for eventually reclaiming her sexuality and using it as a weapon against those who have wronged her. It's a fairly refreshing take, especially for something this old, that goes hand-in-hand with the film's relatively open-minded depiction of same-sex attraction. While the only lesbian character in the movie is the evil brothel overseer who becomes infatuated with the lead, she isn't the bad guy because she's gay, she's a bad guy who just so happens to be gay; a significant distinction that honestly may not even be intentional on the part of the filmmakers.

Eventually, it becomes clear that our hero has a plan in place to get the sweet, sweet vengeance she so deserves. To execute this plan, she plays into her predicament and uses the lust of those she seeks to destroy against them. She doesn't wait for someone to save her, she saves herself - or, rather, enables herself to get her hands bloody enough that she can find some sort of internal peace. It's here where the film starts to get a little more conventional, but even the most tried-and-tested of its genre beats hit just a little differently due to the context in which they're used. What starts out as a fairly slow, one-by-one kind of thing soon escalates into all-out carnage, and the jaw-dropping final act is a cathartic cacophony of chaos soaked in so much blood you'd be forgiven for thinking you were watching a pulpy Kung fu flick from much later in the genre's cycle. The choreography is as impressive as you'd expect from a Shaw Brothers production, but it's slightly more blunt and even scrappy so that it better meshes with the generally brutal nature of the overall film. The camerawork takes a similarly gritty approach, often favouring tighter compositions and even making use of some handheld shots. It makes use of elegant wirework to give its protagonist a somewhat otherworldly feel, almost like she's a ghost who has returned to haunt - or, rather, claim the souls of - those who killed her (perhaps, and this is purposefully reaching, this implies that her spirit, her true self, died when she was sold into sexual slavery and robbed of the life she could have lived). Somehow, these stylised fight scenes don't clash with the affair's dark tone and heavy subject matter, and they're honestly really satisfying in their own gruesome way because we don't have an ounce of sympathy for the baddies our hero is so effectively slicing up. The picture's ultimate conclusions about the indiscriminately destructive nature of revenge feel like something out of a late-stage martial arts movie, which tend to be more nihilistic than their predecessors. The picture is utterly devoid of hope, because even if the lead achieves her goal of killing those who harmed her, she's been irrevocably damaged and entirely consumed by a drive for vengeance. Love and hate have become tangled together, both used solely for murderous purposes, and there's a sense that even the hero has no real concept of coming out of this... well, I would say "unscathed" but perhaps "at all" is better.

I haven't even mentioned yet that the fact that the flick has a female protagonist, let alone one who is never saved by a man, is extremely commendable (especially for the era). While she is placed in sexual situations and treated as an object by those in the film, none of those scenes are even accidentally titillating (there's no on-screen nudity from the main actor) and it's clear that the movie itself does not condone the behavior it's depicting. The lead is a fully fledged character with her own arc and no need to take the moral high ground, every bit as complex and capable as any of her male counterparts in other Kung fu flicks from the time.

Overall, this is a distinct and affecting feature that doesn't feel overly distasteful despite its odd, potentially discordant mixture of genre and subject matter. It makes you uncomfortable, but it doesn't do it for the wrong reasons. It feels ahead of its time in most ways that matter. Blending beautiful on-set scenery and costuming with vicious violence of the most despicable nature, it sheds light on the realities of an industry often glossed over by films of its kind while also delivering on the cathartic Kung fu excellence you'd expect from those same films, all while somehow feeling cohesive.

It isn't perfect, though. The middle portion of the picture is a lot slower than it could have been, but it also speeds through an important transitional period in its protagonist's journey. There is a somewhat unrefined repetition that occurs when its in media res opening is finally caught up to, and some of the background performers who appear nude or semi-nude look uncomfortably young (especially three courtesans who appear in a four-way sex scene later on in the story and genuinely don't seem to have been eighteen at the time of filming based on what little information I can gleam from IMDb). There is also the occasional bit of clumsy choreography that feels like it could have been nailed if just one more take were to have been done.

Still, this is an unconventional and engaging effort that really does have one heck of a climactic massacre. If you can stomach its brutality, it's worth watching.

This film essentially begins with a young woman by the name of "Ainu" (Lilly Ho) being kidnapped by slave merchants and taken to a brothel owned and operated by a beautiful but extremely evil woman named "Lady Chun" (Betty Pei Ti). Although Ainu tries to escape and does everything in her power to resist she eventually is auctioned off to four men in particular who each take their turn raping her one day after another before returning her back to Lady Chun. However, after these ordeals are finished she not only gains the respect of Lady Chun but subsequently wins her affection as well. Yet in spite of her elevated status, Ainu still nurtures a hatred in her heart for those four men and as a result she patiently waits for the right time to gain her revenge. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although I would have preferred a bit more depth and intrigue, this still turned out to be an entertaining martial arts movie for the most part. Likewise, it certainly didn't hurt to have two beautiful actresses like the aforementioned Lilly Ho and Betty Pei Ti. Be that as it may, while I don't consider this to be a great martial arts film by any means, it was certainly good enough for the time spent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Absolutely marvellous Shaw brothers classic. Definitely strong influence on Kill Bill. I watched the dubbed version which seemed OK. Art direction terrific. The ending is an over the top bloodbath









Fantastic

A woman named Ainu is kidnapped and sold to a brothel. She tries to resist & escape but fails being caught immediately. Given the choice between dying or accepting her position in the brothel she chooses the latter. Soon after is rented to four wealthy clients and secretly vows revenge. Also becoming the lover of the brothel's lesbian Madame.

There is several scenes of martial arts action. Something Shaw Brothers were well known for. Included is a little blood, of course a bright red color, another thing the Shaws were known for. But wait, there's more. The storyline is still the main focus. It's an interesting story on its own. Throw in a little minor nudity as well.

From beginning to end is a strong script. The action for the most part is well choreographed. The acting is good to excellent. This is one of the most well known Hong Kong films of its type. A true classic.