
Wu Xia (武俠)

Asia: July 28th, 2011
Genre: Martial Arts
Language: Cantonese
Sichuanese
Mandarin
Directed by: Peter Chan Ho-Sun
Produced by: Peter Chan Ho-Sun
Huang Jianxin
Jojo Hui
Written by: Aubrey Lam
Starring:
Donnie Yen
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Tang Wei
Jimmy Wang Yu
Kara Hui
First and foremost, an understanding behind the title of the film is prerequisite to appreciation the film. Thankfully, there's always Wikipedia:
Wuxia (武侠) is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua (Chinese comics), films, television series, and video games. Wuxia is a component of popular culture for many Chinese-speaking communities worldwide.
Directed by Peter Chan Ho-Sun, one of the most respectable and prolific film-makers in Hong Kong, Wu Xia offers unrelenting martial arts entertainment and will no doubt be an ideal Summer blockbuster. However, with Chan's ambitious aim to revitalize the genre by an innovative injection of the modern thriller and noir detective element, the film marks a new high point both in the prolific career of the producer-director, and in the much-beloved film genre of Wuxia.
Starting out as a reimagining of Chang Cheh (張徹)’s 1967 Wuxia classic, One Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀) as a result of Chan and Yen's conversation on their common passion for the martial arts films in the 60s and 70s, Wu Xia soon evolved into an ambitious project that serves to modernize the ailing genre of Wuxia/martial arts for audiences both Chinese and international. Paying homage to the aforementioned golden age of Chinese martial arts films, an incredible combination of noir detective and CSI-esque forensics was integrated to the otherwise familiar theme of vengeance and redemption, ensuring the film's accessibility far beyond the traditional audience base in Asia.
Following the film's premiere at Cannes Film Festival, The Weinstein Company has acquired the release rights of the film in US, and will be releasing the film stateside as "Dragon". While I wholeheartedly agreed that the change of title for the English-speaking market is at best awkward (perhaps Weinstein is somehow in hope of stirring some kind of retroactive appeal for those audience who enjoyed its previous major Asia release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) I understand the necessity behind the re-titling for marketing purpose and optimistic on the film's prospects in the Western market.

Xu, a master detective who utilized an almost-scientific repertoire of expertise from forensic science, Chinese acupuncture, and traditional detective smarts, soon deduced that the unlikely local hero might just be a highly-skilled mass murderer on the run from the law or something else. Xu's unrelenting investigation to uncover the true identity of Liu soon take a turn for the tragic as the lives of the family of four as well as the peaceful village are forever shattered by the aftermath of the revelation.




In line with the film's intent to pay homage to the classic Wuxia film of yesteryear, both martial art movie icon Jimmy Wang Yu (incidentally the One-Armed Swordsman himself in the aforementioned classic 1967 film) and veteran Kara Hui appeared on the film to lend some menacing presence as the antagonists of the film. Wang, in particular, was a major acquisition of the director, for the moving confrontation scene surrounding a childhood memory before the final action sequence.


Being a film that seeks to reinvent the much beloved genre of Wuxia films with the namesake of the genre being front and center (not unike a noir detective film being entitled as "Noir"), Wu Xia is undoubtedly an ambitious undertaking by the acclaimed director. With top notch production values, exhilarating action sequences, and the signature humanist touch of the director, Wu Xia is an innovative approach on the run-of-the-mill genre that worked on many levels, resulting in an exemplary take on one of the most loved genres in Chinese pop culture. This is one film no Wuxia fans or any self-respecting movie lovers ought to miss.
Outstanding
The trailers for the film.
Here are a collection of posters for the film.













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