Ever seen a Tibetan monk headbutt a woman in the diddy's? Yuen Biao's directorial debut, is a wonderful treat for any fan of martial arts or Hong Kong films. While it has its flaws, you can't help but fall for the underrated stars epic fight-filled-fantasy!
A Kid From Tibet runs along the same vein as Biao's fantastic The Iceman Cometh (which also stars Yuen Wah as the villain) although his character in this is similar to that of his roles in the Peacock King films, and given the touches of magic and fantasy in this, may have made a great trilogy for the saga.
Yuen Wah chews the screen with his crazy bad guy role (as always), while Nina Li Chi stars as his whip wielding, right-hand woman and for once doesn't suffer as the running joke of the whole film due to her big breasts - nor does she suffer the same amount of abuse she normally does in other roles...
Biao claims that this is his favourite film - the one that best shows off his skills as an actor and martial artist - but I have to disagree! As great as it is, he's acted and fought in much better, but I totally understand that as his only project in which he has had full control, it does mean a lot to him - and yes, he does show some incredible moves here both as a fighter and acrobat! I do enjoy the character he plays here - a naïve, fish-out-of-water Tibetan monk with a skill of kung fu and magic that helps him out when he helps others. Yuen Biao's footwork has always been a highlight in any movie he's been in, and it certainly gets put to good use here!
The story is fairly paced and kept entertaining enough with plenty of comedic moments, exciting and well executed fight scenes that just get better as the show moves along. I'd really love to see a restored version of this rare classic as the DVD quality of most releases isn't great, and a cleaned up HD version would most certainly show the film for what it really is.
A Kid From Tibet is a fairly good to fantastic film and is definitely entertaining enough for repeated viewings. While the scenes set in Tibet are nice and often fun, the best parts really do kick-in once we get to Hong Kong. With a host of familiar faces, the comedy and action are cranked up a notch with Biao back on his own turf - with an end battle clearly inspired by his time on the aforementioned The Iceman Cometh...
Overall: An enjoyable, if somewhat underrated, Yuen Biao vehicle with some fantastic fight action, stunt-work and plenty of laughs!
