I love Kung Fu and Wuxia movies! (The Wuxia soul sleeping within me)

wǒ xǐhuan kàn gōngfupiàn.

Growing up with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, I feel like the blood of Chinese and Hong Kong Kung Fu and Wuxia films flows through me.

Since around high school, I've watched fewer Kung Fu movies, but even so, sometimes I get an irresistible urge to watch them.
It's like I want to feel those flowing movements... In that sense, perhaps I was watching them not just as fighting action, but as a kind of 'dance' using wire action sense.
This time, I would like to ' note ' about the Kung Fu or Wuxia movies I've encountered from time to time.

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"A Chinese Ghost Story"

An SFX action film produced by Hong Kong cinema master Tsui Hark. It features the so-called flashy wire action where people are constantly flying around. Well, the creatures are what they are, but there are beautiful scenes here and there that make it an unforgettable work.

I especially remember being captivated by the title sequence where deep crimson fabric flutters.

It's a film adaptation of a classic Chinese novel, a motif that has been adapted many times.
This 1987 version stars the late Leslie Cheung, so you can enjoy the sad love romance between the boyish young Cheung and the truly beautiful Joey Wong.

Joey Wong is an actress from Taiwan who often appeared in films related to Tsui Hark.
In "A Chinese Ghost Story," she showed both her cute and bewitching sides, and she was truly wonderful.

"Once Upon a Time in China"

And then there is the "Once Upon a Time in China" series, a kung fu film series that represents the full effort of Tsui Hark.
The series stars Wong Fei-hung, a real-life martial artist who was active at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and it was so popular that it spawned subsequent sequels, a TV series, and various similar works.

Jet Li plays the lead role of Wong Fei-hung, and his physical sharpness in this series is extraordinary; the fight scenes are also full of flair and make use of many creative ideas.

The ladder fight in "Once Upon a Time in China."

The stacked table fight in "Once Upon a Time in China II."

And so on, it is a series where the fantastic fight scenes, enhanced by wire action, are a joy to watch.

There are many similar works, which can be confusing, but I recommend the first film in the series, "Once Upon a Time in China," and the second film, which was the first to be introduced in Japan, "Once Upon a Time in China II," so don't get them mixed up!

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

It was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that made me feel a new era for kung fu and sword-based wuxia films.

In this film, where Chow Yun-fat plays a legendary swordsman, the fight scenes were simply fluid and beautiful.

Scenes like chasing thieves across rooftops and walls, or the sword fighting in the bamboo forest, make full use of wire action to show beautiful movements that seem to defy gravity.

I believe this film undoubtedly opened up a new frontier for wuxia movies.

"HERO"

And then, following "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," came director Zhang Yimou's "HERO".

Wow, this film was truly beautiful from start to finish.

The star-studded cast, including Jet Li, Tony Leung, and Donnie Yen, was amazing, but each fight scene had a specific color palette, which made them even more beautiful.

Watching it in the theater, I was so captivated by its beauty that I couldn't help but stare.
The theme is the assassination of the King of Qin (the future First Emperor) at the end of the Warring States period, but it goes beyond mere entertainment, exploring the question of what a true hero is, which really made me think.

The swordsman "Broken Sword," played by Tony Leung, was incredibly cool. In that sense, he felt like the shadow protagonist.

* The other day, I wrote an article titled "Three Movies with Striking Colors", and this film, "HERO," should have been included in that list as well...

"The Grandmaster"

Finally, I'd like to introduce "The Grandmaster," in which director Wong Kar-wai depicts the real-life martial artist Ip Man.
Actually, even before this movie was released, the "Ip Man" series starring Donnie Yen had become popular, so I was surprised that director Wong Kar-wai was making a movie about a martial artist.
However, it definitely had a unique touch; while I don't remember the story clearly, the fight scenes were beautiful.

Every scene was beautiful, but what particularly caught my eye were the scenes featuring Zhang Ziyi, who played one of the opposing martial artists.

Actually, Zhang Ziyi has appeared in the movies I've introduced so far, and she was the opponent in scenes that were memorable to me, such as the "bamboo forest" fight in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and the "falling leaves" fight in "Hero".
In both scenes, she was treated a bit like a child, but in "The Grandmaster," she played a truly strong role, and in particular, the scene where she fights beside a locomotive at a snowy train station was a beautiful and magnificent battle.

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Looking back, there are other impressive works such as director Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" and director John Woo's "Red Cliff," but this time, I have introduced these five films.

Since then, there have been a few other Wuxia movies I've been curious about, but I feel like I haven't watched any recently.
I am looking forward to the day I encounter a movie that makes me think, "I want to watch it again!"

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