A Touch of Zen

I came upon this film by accident, I looked for it on video, someone offered me a second generation copy for US$80! No thanks, then by magic it came up on digital TV in the UK, 3 months after I had started to look for it!

I saw the widescreen/subtitled 177 mins version, although it is 3 hours long it is not boring, it keeps your attention throughout. The fight sequences I did not find particularly thrilling except for the monks (they were exceptional). The film is a little too dark, not enough sunshine. The photography is excellent especially given the film was made in '69. You can see the similarity with the modern day "crouching tiger hidden dragon" Ang Lee has said he was inspired by this film. If you ever get a chance to see this make sure you do.

I first saw 'A Touch of Zen' in the late 70s; it had such an effect on me that I looked for it on video for years and years, but to no avail - then to my relief it was shown on TV during a martial arts night twenty years later. In fact it was shown as the finale of that night - so perhaps I am not the only person who thinks this is the ultimate martial arts film.

It is over three hours long; the first hour is mainly scene-setting and not much happens, but this just adds to the impact. All you could want in a film is here - tension, action, arty filmwork, a kind of love interest, action, beautifully choreographed fights, intrigue, action, comedy, philosophy.... and a monk who is so pure that when he is wounded he bleeds.... well, you'd better see for yourself what he bleeds.

A must-see (if you have three hours to spare).

Wow.... so while this might have its flaws, as an experience it's overwhelming (in a good way) and frequently stunning, as well as something that goes by pretty quickly for three hours.

Despite the epic length, it doesn't feel like a traditional epic. It more felt like two - or maybe even three - plots sort of smooshed together. And on top of that, each third of the film is very distinct. The first third has no action and is sort of like a period drama/mystery. The second third is more straightforward martial arts fare, feeling very similar to another of King Hu's films, Dragon Inn (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The final third retains the action but takes thing in a really interesting surreal/spiritual/maybe even psychological direction. It's hard to put into words, but it leaves an impact.

I wouldn't call this poorly written, but the distinctive acts and more than one plot all combined together did create something of a disjointed feeling. It didn't make the movie harder to get through, as I only realised it wasn't entirely cohesive right at the end, but it's worth mentioning. The first third might have been a tad slow, too. But after an hour, there's no point where it feels like things drag.

Thankfully everything else is close to perfect. For starters, it's visually stunning. It has some of the best lighting I think I've ever seen, with night scenes looking realistically dark (without things being impossible to see), and all the scenes during the day are just gorgeous. All the great landscapes help, too.

The action satisfies and all the performances and characters are quite good. Very good music, too. On a rewatch I might not be bothered by some of those unusual screenplay decisions, but even with that minor criticism, this is still an amazing movie, and probably among the best martial arts movies I've ever seen.

To think that I used to accuse King Hu of doing injustice to the wuxia genre with boring storytelling and slow action, I must have been on crack at the time--as his best works completely transcend elements of conventional film-making. In A TOUCH OF ZEN, It's not the story or the action that stands out; although they are part of the system, they are secondary to the theme of spiritual enlightenment, which is what counts in Buddhist philosophy. When the abbot confronts the East Chamber agent, the art of combat is strictly utilized by the abbot to guide the agent to "put down his sword, and attain peace with Buddha." There is a haunting sight when the bookworm scholar is amused by his tactic which fooled the agents. He thinks he has reached the peak of perfection, but then he sees dead bodies lying around who have suffered from his tactic, and the only thing on his mind is a woman whom he lusts. As book-smart as he is, he still suffers from worldly affair like everyone else. Only at the end when he accepts Buddha is he able to live in peace.

Aside from the philosophical points, ZEN also scores strongly in establishing mood, suspense, and fascinating visuals. The Jiang Hu in this film feels incredibly authentic, and the rich mise-en-scene is refreshing compared to the limited Shaw Bros studio offerings. I loved the photography throughout; it beautifully captures the spiritual wonder of ancient Orient. In framing still shots, King Hu chiefly employs medium and medium close-ups, mounting his camera at an upward angle so we can always see beyond the characters, perhaps to suggest existence of higher wisdom.

One observation I would like to propose is that although ZEN is probably a milestone in Chinese cinema, it would be a minor masterpiece compared to the best works from 60s Japan. The lush photography and haunting images from KWAIDAN come to mind as a comparison. No doubt, King Hu also learned a few tricks from the likes of Kurosawa, such as pointing his camera at the sun which occurs frequently in ZEN.

[9/10]

For UK DVD viewers, this genre classic is finally available to own. Optimum's print is not perfect (slightly dim in places), and you can't turn off the giant subtitles (should you want to), but at least we can see the full version of King Hu's masterpiece. Anybody seriously interested in martial arts cinema must seek out a copy, since it represents one of the most elegant examples of its type, a few years before the international success of Asian fight flicks proliferated a slew of poorly dubbed, re-edited versions for Western markets, solidifying the stereotype of "chop-socky" films as plot-free, laughable foreign commodities. A Touch of Zen builds up for almost a full hour before so much as a punch is thrown. The story is narrow, but complex, and King Hu takes time to create atmosphere, and a sense of place and time which is often taken for granted in other period epics. Oh yes, and the fight scenes are great.