L'auberge du dragon

One of the most beautiful of Hong Kong's 'New wave' sword-fight films, "Dragon Inn" has virtually nothing wrong to be said for it. A dark Romantic tragedy over-layered with a romantic comedy almost as dark, and filled with living breathing characters brilliantly portrayed by an excellent cast; still, the film's primary asset is its breathtaking imagery and carefully subdued (given the material) editing. You never have any doubt as to where your eye should light, nor are you ever disappointed.

After viewing any narrative film, we have the right to ask ourselves, "did I go any interesting places here? did I meet any interesting people? did I see anything I could not have seen otherwise?" The answers for this film are: "yes, yes, and again yes" Although this is not a 'magic kung fu' film, yet there is magic in virtually every frame. It takes us to another world and introduces us to interesting people, and then, when the end comes, it simply says 'adieu' and the film closes and we are home again - but far better informed on the nature of the world, and of the human heart, than we would be other wise.

True cinema magic, and certainly one of the best of its kind - perhaps one of the best of any kind.

Some people may get this movie confused with the highly acclaimed 1966 original of the same title by the legendary King Hu(Come Drink With Me, A Touch of Zen). Although not as good as the original, this one has more action to appeal for younger audience and the additional character of the inn lady played by Maggie Cheung is great fun. And there was the immortal Brigitte Lin. Unfortunately, the plot and script(reportedly) suffered due to an eye injury caused on Brigitte's eye during shooting and the producers need to rush the film's completion for the festival time's screening.

Not as successful in the box-office as Swordsman 2, not as good as the highly acclaimed and artistic Ashes of Time, and not a cult success like White Hair Bride, this movie is still fun to watch. (Incidently, all 4 starred Brigitte Lin, around the same time and I consider them the most successful of the 90's Wuxia)

All the characters are remarkable, and the movie is really a classic.

Large swathes of China are falling under the despotic rule of Cao Shao-qin as he and his merciless Black Flag riders slaughter Government officials and anyone who threatens his rule. When Cao captures the children of a murdered Lord, Zhou Huai-an mounts a rescue mission led by Qiu Moy-an. With the children and her men, Qiu meets Zhou at the Dragon Inn, owed by the outlaw Jin Xiangyu – who is only out for what she can make for herself. With the pass shut, some of Cao's men arrive at the inn sparking a stand-off between the two groups with the money-grabbing Jin in the middle. As the days pass, bad weather keep the groups in the inn while Cao and the Black Riders close in.

I borrowed this film from a friend with no prior knowledge of it, so I checked out the reviews on imdb to get a taste for what it would be like. I was immediately dubious when people, who had clearly only experienced this genre by seeing `Crouching Tiger' in their multiplex, were calling it the greatest HK film ever made and other such absurd claims. Also the way in which many users have compared this to `Crouching Tiger' also suggests that that is the only benchmark they have. However I settled to watch it.

For the most part I enjoyed it. The plot worked quite well in miniature and only got weak in the final 10 minutes where it just seemed to collapse into an illogical confrontation. The story is laced with humour which mostly works and has some nice touches (the teasing striptease-come-fight between Jin and Qiu was fun) but I did have a nasty taste due to some of the strong language and crudity which seemed out of place.

What didn't work as well for me were the selfsame scenes that other reviewers have been raving about – the fights. In some of the scenes there are touches of clever choreography but often it is a swirling mix of arms and legs that is lost in editing that is far too quick at times to allow us to fully appreciate the moves. The final fight (which again some users have called one of the greatest fights ever filmed!) is OK but not as acrobatic or inspiring as I'd have liked – also it's gore spoils the actual action to the point where it is laughable rather than exciting. This is not to say that the fights are without merits (most of them are pretty good) but they are quite ordinary at times and lack a real imagination. They are still exciting but don't be sucked in by the gushing praise from these pages.

The cast are all pretty good with some exceptions. Leung is quite sturdy and delivers a character without too much flair but prevents him from being too wooden. Donnie Yen was a disappointment for me. His role consisted mostly of two cameos – one at the start where he sit passively and the other at the end in an overly-gory fight scene which was so lost in a sand storm that his skills were not fully displayed. The two women really made the film for me –they both had different characters but also mixed it up and delivered the comedy. Maggie Cheung probably shaded it as she had the most interesting character but Lin was also very good.

Overall I enjoyed the film and am not suggesting that it is a bad film – only a bit too gory for my tastes. It is lightly funny and there is plenty of swordplay but it certainly never reaches the cinematic heights of ecstasy that are alluded to by some of the reviews here.

Superb reworking on the 1966 King Hu classic that pays greater homage to the old-fashioned swashbuckling epics of Hong Kong's yesteryear rather than a cash-in on the new wave crop: this is meatier than its contemporaries and offers expert choreography and top-notch performances throughout. Tsui Hark produces this historical affair, a costume drama detailing the plight of resistance fighter Zhou Huaian (Leung) and partner Qiu Moyan (Lin), relentlessly headhunted by evil eunuch Cao Shao-qiu (Yen), a powerful so-and-so and hottest contender for supreme control of the Imperial court. Zhou is his latest obstacle that deserves elimination and so he lures his orphan children into a trap, which summarily backfires and the resistance take up refuge at the isolated Dragon Gate Inn, situated in the middle of the desert. Cheung plays the delightful innkeeper in a light hearted and flirtatious manner, and truly shines in the role, however there are few comedic touches: the movie is dark and sinister due to its restrictions to the Inn, yet the action is lavish and radical, culminating in that legendary Gobi desert finale that'll just blow your socks clean off.