Raining in the Mountain

Raining on the Mountain is a sorely neglected little gem of a Chinese flick. I would say "kung fu flick", but that's almost wholly untrue. There are several fight scenes (most notably near the climax), but the film seems much more interested in the fluidity and the composition of these scenes than the actual viscera of the bloody mouths and body blows. There's a sort of extravagant economy of motion here: everything is done for the effect, but nothing feels gratuitous or superfluous; it's simply done so well that you breeze through without giving it a thought. A good portion of this film consists of people running, ducking and hiding behind things, but Hu, being behind the pen, behind the camera and apparently behind the editing equipment as well, presents the entire film like a dance, no matter what they're doing.

The plot concerns a number of characters scheming towards two major aims inside a Buddhist monastery: an esquire and a general both looking to obtain a priceless handwritten scroll from their library, using various means (including a faux-concubine and her bandana-clad partner-in-crime) to obtain it. Additionally, the abbot of the monastery is looking for a successor, and several of the monks are attempting to get a good word for their names through less than legitimate means: namely, getting the esquire or the general to put in a good word by assisting them in getting the scroll. The other major plot point involves a former thief (convicted, but claims falsely accused) being hounded by the lieutenant that put him behind bars, and the two of them getting into various scraps, and coming off like wounded children.

The film I was more reminded of (at least in a superficial way) was Miyazaki's The 47 Ronin. Both films have action, but aren't overly concerned with the action so much as with how the action is executed. Neither film is particularly substantial plotwise, but both exert special attention to the minutiae of politicking, and their power comes with how that plot is carried out. Just as Raining on the Mountain is mostly people dodging enough and slinking away, The 47 Ronin is a film that consists mostly of people running into rooms and informing the occupants of exciting things happening outside, and yet, both are captivating because of how they present their wares. While it occasionally grinds to a bit of a halt when it focuses on the abbot appointing, Raining on the Mountain is an evocative, sensual, breathtaking and above all enjoyable film, and with a surprisingly light, fun storyline, a memorable cast of characters, and a thrilling conclusion, it's a film I'd gladly recommend to anybody that can obtain it.

{Grade: 8.5/10 (B+) / #10 (of 24) of 1979}

During the Ming Dynasty a priceless handwritten Buddhist Tripitaka scroll finds a General (Tien Feng) has his eye on it. He plans to take it from the monastery where it is held. The abbott finds a successor to help guard it.

Meister director, King Hu applies his usual slow measured approach in this slow burning drama with his usual typical style and some superb camerawork by Henry Chan. However, it does suffer from slowness in places but the films poetry inevitable shines through.

Sometime during the Ming Dynasty in China, the elderly abbot of a remote Buddhist monastery is aware of his impending death and trying to decide which one of his monk disciples would be the most suitable to become his successor. To help him decide, the abbot has invited three guests to the monastery: a wealthy merchant Wen (Yueh Sun), a powerful General Wang (Feng Tien) and a wise scholar Wu Wai (Chia-hsiang Wu). The first two have more on their minds though, as both are after a priceless scroll of wisdom that is hidden in the monastery's library. Wen is assisted by two master thieves, the female White Fox (Feng Hsu) and a quiet man called Gold Lock (Ming-tsai Wu), while Wang has the local police chief Chang Cheng as his sidekick. The monks of the monastery also have their own ideas regarding the abbot's decision, and many schemes and clashes follow when everybody pursuits their own personal goals.

Director King Hu's calm, beautiful style becomes evident immediately during the first scenes of the film where Wen and his assistants are walking towards the monastery; the gorgeous scenery, grandiose music and flowing, long costumes all set the mood for the whole story. The large monastery itself looks wonderful too and provides an excellent backdrop for the plot that is about to start. Among the best scenes is White Fox and Gold Lock's long run through the yards and hallways to the library, all the while avoiding the monks by quickly jumping out of sight and hiding in whatever place is available when anybody passes them. As all this is presented with little dialogue and only accompanied by highly atmospheric percussion and zither-driven music, the whole sequence ranks among the most suspenseful I've seen in a long time.

Even though the film may have been advertised as a martial arts tale, the fighting is rather sparse (the first clash only occurs 50 minutes into the story and the action properly gets going only at the very end). The stylized ending battles in the autumny forest are excellent though and more than enough to satisfy any wuxia fan. Besides the fights and the sneaking sequences, the huge group scenes with hundreds of monks at the front yard look marvelous too. The film's dynamic direction, camera work, mise-en-scène and cinematography are so consistently jaw-dropping that it is really difficult to find anything to criticize in the film; everything is in perfect balance. The comedic scheming of Wen and Wang, the complaints of the disgruntled monks, the wire-work during the fights, the bright colours everywhere... just magnificent.

The underlying theme of Raining in the Mountain is the importance of giving up any feelings of greed in the spirit of Buddhism. Wen and Wang's obsession about the supposedly priceless scroll doesn't help them to achieve happiness, while the abbot repeatedly mentions that the scroll's power lies in its written message, not in the object itself. With so many thoroughly enjoyable details in one movie, the two hours of its runtime practically fly by when watching the film. In brief, Raining in the Mountain is heartily recommended to anyone with even a faintest interest in Asian cinema.

People seem afraid to give this one less than 3/5, so I'm going to go for it with a slightly lower 2.5/5. It's boring! It's beautifully shot, sure, but it's dull. I don't think it should be labeled as belonging to the action genre, because this is... I don't know, it's not even really a drama. There's a ceremony to pick a new abbot at a monastery, there's a scroll a few people want to get but it's hidden away, and there's political intrigue after the decision regarding the former event is made.

But the film slouches awkwardly from one thread to another, and much of Raining in the Mountain feels like numerous scenes stitched together, the only through line being that the movie is set in one fairy confined location. Okay, that's something. I'll concede. But I found very little rhyme, reason, or rhythm as to how those scenes were placed together. There was no flow, there were no interesting characters, there was little action in what I thought was a martial arts movie, and some of the music was so annoying (it drove me insane during the chasing/sneaking scenes, and there are many).

King Hu was on autopilot with this one, I think. Every other films of his I've seen is better, or has more to offer. I was enamoured with the first couple I saw, but digging out his deeper cuts has been diminishing returns to some extent... though this is the first one I found really disappointing. If you want something spiritual, atmospheric, and maybe thematically rich (if you want to dig deep or whatever), maybe there's something to be gained from approaching this with that frame of mind. And yes, it does look very good; I can't entirely criticise the visuals without being petty or unfair.

Actually, I would just say watch King Hu's similarly named Legend of the Mountain instead, which came out the same year, is longer, has even less action, but definitely has something to it that makes it compelling and easier to get lost in/hypnotised by.

Made at the same time as the ghost film, "Legend in the Mountain", "Raining in the Mountain" is in some ways a more traditional film for King Hu. His aesthetic is old fashioned in some ways and more akin to the New Wave of Mainland China. Regardless he tries to experiment and that's what makes a King Hu film fascinating to watch.

An ailing temple Abbot has summoned his best laymen friends to assist in the choosing of a new Abbot from among the monks. One a businessman brings along a woman and a servant. Another, who is a general and district governor brings along a shady lieutenant. Both friends seem to have ulterior motives in their visit and that turns out to be the theft of a rare scroll kept in a storeroom. In addition, another friend of the Abbot arrives. He is an elderly man who, despite being a layperson, has a deeper understanding of Buddhism then most monks. Oddly, he is accompanied by dozens of women who carry his palanquin. Finally, by coincidence, a convict is delivered to the temple to be reformed into a monk. The cast of characters is assembled.

First off, for all fans of King Hu martial art extravaganzas, there are only three fight scenes in the whole film, the first being at 50 minutes in, a second short fight about fifteen minutes later and the third extended fight about 1 hour and 40 minutes in. They are all well done in King Hu's abstract but lively style. There is more going on in this film than an excuse for action.

It takes about ten minutes before we have any idea about the story of the film. Up until then it's a series of attractive shots of mountains, fall foliage and eventually the temple while the businessman and his entourage travel. The photography in this film is great from beginning to end. The Chinese traditional inspired music is very good as well. The story is good despite some plot holes and some predictable twists. The Buddhist philosophy and the dialog were very interesting to me.

Overlong at 2 hours and missing dramatic tension at the climax, it's still an above average film from Taiwan. I am not sure what the "raining" in the title refers to since it's bone dry for the entire film except for one shot at the beginning.