over the moon

[reverancepavane]

Last night I saw a film that I hadn't seen for thirteen years. I sat in the same cinema (probably in the same seat if I recall correctly), but the audience was vastly different. The first time I saw this film the cinema was packed with an enthusiastic audience, mostly of chinese descent, waiting to see the latest Hong Kong film on a saturday matinee. This time the audience was sparse and mostly western, on a cold and rainy evening. I've changed too. When I had first seen the film I was relatively inexperienced in both cantonese and Hong Kong films; now, after many years of catching almost every Hong Kong film that came out, I am much wiser in both. I had fond memories of Sammo Hung's The Moon Warriors (Zan shen chuan sho), which surprised many of my friends, because it isn't the best wuxia around. But now I think I know why I enjoyed it so much. First of all the villian, ably played by Kelvin Wong, was utterly without any redeeming features, save for his utter competency. In modern terms, think of a Sith Lord who didn't need to bother to use any Force tricks to defeat the entire Jedi Council and you are somewhat close to the mark. In fact the villian was able to defeat all four heroes at the climax of the film, although this was made easier by the heroes being weakened by their love for each other. It's rather easy to beat the good guys when each of them was willing to sacrifice themselves so that their loved one wouldn't be hurt. Secondly I did enjoy the means of the villans defeat at the hands of one of the hero's friends. Admittedly it was a ridiculous "fluke" shot, but it was well timed (at the moment of the villians final victory over the heroes) and it worked. But lastly, and most importantly, it was the ethereal beauty and divine grace of Hsein the spy/bodyguard which captivated me. Which is surprising, since reputedly this is the only film where Maggie Cheung never smiles. She still remains to this day one of my favourite actresses, and it was a joy to be captivated all over again. Sad, aren't I. =9) Of course my reccomendation for good Hong Kong films should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, another of Sammo Hung's films would have to be my admitted favourite: Eagle Shooting Heroes. So bad it's incredibly good. [1] [1] Some of my favourite lines from this film include "Toad Force ... Level Three," "You are not ambassadors from foreign country! You are ambassadors from guru country!" and the greatest line of all, "I'm not a talking eagle; I'm an overgrown parrot." And where did she hide that crystal ball?