Le fer et la soie

(1991) Iron And Silk DOCU-DRAMA

Adapted from the Mark Salzman book detailing his experiences while he was working in China as an English teacher. What's interesting is the fact that both Mark and the Chinese martial arts teacher he bonds with by the name of Pan Qingfu are also playing themselves. Pan Qingfu has also been in other movies including Jet Lee's first martial arts movie called "The Shaolin Temple" made in 1981. One of the most semi-accuate docu-drama's about the culture of China during that time. And although, the acting is not Oscar worthy, there are many fascinating factions happening throughout. This is probably the mature realistic version of "The Karate Kid".

Deceptively simple on the surface, Iron and Silk is complex beneath, with clashes and harmonies between East and West, old and new, open and closed, never pitting one against the other but exploring the interlocking elements. The plot isn't much; the joy is in the interplay of currents. This is a beautiful movie.

It's worth pointing out that IMDb's vote weighting hurts Iron and Silk badly. With only 310 votes as I write, apparently IMDb doesn't believe that so many people vote it a ten, or perhaps they discount bimodal vote distributions. IMDb's 6.4 is about what you get if you throw out all the tens! If you're into kinds of averages, the mode is 10, the median is 9, and the mean is 8.1. Those represent the movie better than IMDb's weighted 6.4.

One of my best friends introduced this book to me around 1988 or so. I read it and loved it... 1990 came and I was in NY going to college when this premiered in NYC. I couldn't make it to the city to see it and I was sorely saddened.

Eventually I did get a chance to see it in a more "artsy" theater and was happy to go. It's NOT a flashy high production value movie, but still the filming was as good as I'd expect, or even demand for this film.

My original interest in the topic had more to do with the kung fu aspect of it, and for that you won't be let down, unless you NEED flash. There aren't fight scenes beyond the typical training and sparring, all of which are impressive and real. Seeing the young boy in the training hall execute such awe inspiring techniques and Master Pan being a hard-ass was excellent.

The love interest theme was a draw too. My memory of the book (sitting on my shelf at home unread for a loooong time) is thin, so I don't recall how deep it went.

It was short, but I like long movies.

I also bought the VHS of this movie.

This movie was one of the best that I have see in a long time. Provides excellent insight into Chinese culture and life. The main character, Mark, provides exceptional acting and teaching Pan is most definetaly a role model to look up to. Chinese accents just make it more believable. Oscar-worthy material. If you have to see one film, see this one, it won't let you down!

I viewed this movie 25 years ago, when it was screened at the Singapore International Film Festival. Director Shirley Sun was on hand to introduce her film, a beautifully-rendered autobiographical work made more meaningful by having the author Mark Salzman play himself. It's an engaging tale of a young American and a fan of kung fu movies, who goes to China to teach English and learns Wushu (martial arts in Chinese) in the process. The entire cast is charming, and so is the city of Hangzhou where the movie was shot. This movie would be perfect as a double feature with Ang Lee's Pushing Hands, also about Wushu and cultural differences.