Sex and Zen

Sex and Zen (1992) is one of the most popular of the category III genre films. This film has reached a far more mainstream audience world wide. It has appeared in art house theaters and video stores. To give you an idea about this movie I am going to pose a question for you. What does Amy Yip, a man who loves the ladies and a horse have in common. Alone, nothing at all but watch the movie and you'll have a good idea. Bizarre erotic fun from Hong Kong (courtesy of Category III). In Cantonese with English sub-titles.

Stars Amy Yip, Lawrence Ng, Carrie Ng and Kent Cheung. A strange period piece that'll have you wanting more. Don't fret, they made a few more sequels that were even more sexually charged than the first film. For shame the Chinese government put an end to this films. They saved the film making industry (for awhile).

Highly recommended.

Keep in mind: this isn't some second rate snuff film. Sex and Zen has a story, has good acting, great costumes and setting. And also, sex.

The scholar in the film tries to fulfill his sexual appetites. Lucky guy, right? However, as the story progresses, I kind of felt sympathy for him. There is humor in this one which keeps the film lively. I winced during the operation scene with a funny cameo by Kent Cheng. The thief who helps the scholar adds some comedy as well.

Amy Yip really stands in this one. She is unbelievably sexy and her character is played nicely. The other beautiful ladies Isabella Chow and Carrie Ng also light up the screen. The sex scenes aren't too explicit, but there are some parts where you'd watch in disbelief. The whole scene in the end, S&M, "musical appreciation"...original concepts you'd probably only find in Hong Kong cinema.

Overall, the film doesn't take itself too seriously. It's erotic, funny, and there's a moral to be learned! Watch it for my hon Amy!!

"Sex and Zen" is trully a gem. It combines beautifully good looking women with gorgeous bodies, humor, plot, and ending with a moral. I think it inspired after copycat movies to follow, but then none that came after it could achieve the climax "Sex and Zen" had achieved.

Without giving too much away, watching "S&Z" is like watching a Hong Kong swordsplay movie but this is on the topic of sex. A trully unique experience that can only come out of Hong Kong movies.

A 8/10 on my book.

While I have a great fondness for this awful gem, I just don't buy that bit. Two women? In that position? With a flute? There's just no way.

The first thing that sold me on this movie was the flying medieval thief guy. Everyone knows that any film is made intrinsically better by the inclusion of an amusing flying thief. ;) The amusing preparation of the young scholar's wife for her first sexual experience was the second. Especially, the look on Our Hero's face as he attempts to deal with it!

This movie is very silly and surprisingly strenuous in sections; two memorable scenes include a rampant, gymnastic almost-rape among bolts of hanging silk, and an incredible cardiac workout underwater.

If you like silly martial arts movies and sex, you will probably enjoy Sex and Zen. It is softcore, so you don't really see anything more than breasts or the odd bum. The subtitles are unfortunately a little hard to read, but the entertaining action speaks for itself.

I wonder what the original title "Yu pu tuan zhi: Tou qing bao jian" means, but the English title "Sex and Zen" sums the movie up nicely, if you translate Zen as "you know, Asian stuff: drinking tea, silly daggers, eating rice, kicking the stuffing out of your opponent". Sex and Zen is an interesting and genuine Asian twist on your average softcore / erotic skin flick, a tasty offering of steamy sex scenes which are loosely tied together by an story. For my taste, the storytelling was a bit too loose and erratic as I'm a big fan a of plot, narration and development. I found myself wondering somewhere in between the rape scene in the fabrics warehouse and the calligraphy-by-shoving-a-brush-up-your-unspeakables segment how it all fits together. Overall it's well worth a viewing, but because of the surreal and incongruent storytelling it didn't really grab me.