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Film: Seven Swords
Release date: 22nd January 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 135 mins
Director: Tsui Hark
Starring: Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Charlie Yeung, Liwu Dai, Liu Chia-Liang
Genre: Action/Drama/Martial Arts
Studio: Contender
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea/Hong Kong/China
Given Tsui Hark’s lengthy CV, expectations are understandably high for any of his films, and Seven Swords is no exception. An explosion of unlikely influences, a celebration of genre, a clash of cultures, it should be a multifaceted film wrapped up in layers of meaning. But whether Hark satisfies the challenge that he has set himself remains debatable.
In true Oriental blockbuster style, Asia’s astounding natural beauty is showcased in mountainous snow scenes that awe and amaze. Like a local tradesman in a tourist hotspot, little effort is made to conceal the stitches that tailor this opening to impress naïve Western viewers, but visual magnificence redeems that.
Obligatory sweeping camera angles out of the way, Hark’s priorities are instantly revealed. As if to cover up his initial indulgent imagery, he guiltily rushes straight into the plot.
Seven Swords recounts the age-old story of gentle village folk struggling against the hedonistic powers that be. In this case, ruler Wind Fire has imposed a ban on martial arts, with a punishment of death for those who defy him: or, it predictably turns out, for those that simply don’t fulfil his glamorous urban ideal. With a weighty cash prize on each of their heads, the people of imaginatively named Martial Village are driven to moral and righteous action...
The rather stilted plot is presented to viewers in a brief flashback that proves more dedicated to special effects, stunning cinematography and slick editing than basic storytelling. It even crams in the stereotypical martial arts fight to fulfil those Eastern cravings of Western newcomers to the genre. Although flimsy, this crude approach does maintain value through its refreshingly direct approach. Audiences at least know exactly what is driving the dreary journey ahead. For added comfort and accessibility, English names and unfussy script replace traditional Mandarin names and audiences are spared dialogue that resembles a string of riddles more than a film.
In its consistently disjointed fashion Seven Swords sees West destructively crash into East by way of the bad guys. Dusty rags of the poor protagonists collide with funky and futuristic hairstyles, war paint, weapons and tattoos. With the addition of ‘fire-stars’ and a dodgy attempt at an over-budget 33MM ‘handheld tremor’, a misplaced parallel to Star Wars is completed by contrived Yoda-esque words of wisdom that could have been written by an imaginative 12-year-old - an American twelve year-old. Momentarily stepping well and truly into the script of a teen comedy, it doesn’t come much more Americanised than “such a cute chick in this shabby village.” There are certainly plenty of cringe worthy moments to entertain: regrettably, they wear a little thin after an hour or so and become tiresome after two. Ruthlessly combined with bland plot and a repetitive overall structure, most viewers are likely to lose interest long before the film’s conclusion.
A single point of interest may lie in the bizarre combination of genres. Seven Swords is not simply an overdone martial arts film. It is a fantasy, a period piece, science fiction and, most prevalently, a Western. In terms of genre as well as culture, all of John Ford’s criteria are met. From the very first stand-off, the enemies are even physically positioned ala cowboy caravan meets Indian tribe. To reveal that the last shot involves heroes on horseback gives nothing away. Yet Hark courageously flashes shiny space swords, silken pantaloons and a few mentions of a Dynasty, as if to complicate genre where script and story fall short.
So extreme is this massive broth of genre, culture, frankly awful style and awesome imagery, it remains a mystery as to whether Seven Swords is one big parody or one big accident. Is there some sort of juxtaposition-based joke that the viewer is meant to be in on, or was the budget bigger than Hark could handle? With titles like the Once Upon A Time In China series under his belt, Hark should be the last person to be overwhelmed by sky high funding, yet this effort comes across as utterly amateurish. Nothing flows and nothing is seamless. Cumbersome blocks of film with a single rudimentary purpose stack upon each other in a Great Wall of Clichés. Subtext and meaning are nonentities. Without a doubt, visual quality is impressive, but this makes the lumbering construction of the overall effort all the more frustrating.
Seven Swords is an admirably accessible beginner’s guide to Eastern cinema, but for most, it has opened the doors far too wide and the substance has fallen out. Perhaps original and bold for fearless genre experimentation, and certainly striking for its imagery, it offers nothing to challenge the viewer or even engage them. Placing audiences in an ambiguous position, it makes for uncomfortable viewing - is Hark sharing a story with them, or just patronising them? In either case, more fool him: boredom is inevitable in this painful and over budgeted mess. RS
Film: Bodyguards And Assassins
Running time: 139 mins
Director: Teddy Chan
Starring: Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Xueqi Wang, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Nicholas Tse
Genre: Action/Martial Arts/Drama
Country: China/Hong Kong
This film was screened in association with Asia House London at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus on Thursday, 11th November 2010. The screening included a special introduction by Peter B Sun, grandson of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen.
When introducing Bodyguards And Assassins – a film based around the real life actions of his grandfather, Peter Sun was asked to comment on the historical accuracy of the film. A laugh went around the auditorium, perhaps filled with veterans of previous Donnie Yen films. Peter Sun laughed, too. Clearly, in bringing the film to the big screen, some embellishments had to be made. Bad news perhaps for scholars of Chinese political history, but great news for fans of martial arts cinema.
Though loosely drawn from the true story of Chinese political hero Sun Yat Sen, or Dr Sun, Bodyguards And Assassins keeps to the remit of its title, focusing not on the real life political figure, but on those who battle around him, and, in so doing, creates a captivating martial arts folktale.
In 1905, word reaches British controlled Hong Kong that renowned revolutionary Dr Sun is set to visit the country in order to plan the uprisings that will overthrow the corrupt ruling Qing Dynasty. The Qing Empress dispatches a group of deadly assassins, led by martial arts master Yan Xiaoguo, to kill Dr Sun before he can complete his mission. Dr Sun’s man in Hong Kong Chen Shaobai enlists the help of newspaper owner Li Yutang, whose overt support of the cause secures the aid of an unlikely team of bodyguards to protect Dr Sun when the day of his vital mission arrives…
The film echoes Seven Samurai in its formation of the unlikely band of warrior eccentrics, each with his or her own reason for protecting Dr Sun. In this case, a servant, a vagrant, a nameless giant, a gambler and a circus performer answer the call. This makes the film very much an ensemble piece with no heavy focus on any one single character. Even Donnie Yen’s gambler police officer goes about his business as a smoothly functioning part of the greater whole.
As the scene is painstakingly set in the opening thirty minutes, one could be forgiven for wondering if the film’s political machinations might have created a slow-burning thriller, but soon after, battle is joined in some style, and a poignant, elegant martial arts epic takes shape. Much of this poignancy is drawn from the film’s setting. A time of great change in China was not only seeing political evolution, but the rise of a new society no longer wedded to its ancient traditions. There is a strong sense that bodyguard and assassin alike are the last remnants of a way of life that is rendered obsolete by the new world of empires, steam and rifles. But, pleasingly, this does not mean the great martial artists are going without a fight.
Donnie Yen strengthens his claim to being the finest modern exponent of the craft. His unarmed work characterised by explosive speed and an elegance of movement that makes one pity those who stand against him. Reborn vagrant Liu Yubai played by Leon Lai, cleaned up and dressed in white gives a demonstration of Chinese Iron Fan that offers the strongest nostalgic echoes of the Chinese warrior past. NBA basketball star Wang Fuming delivers a comically imposing performance as exiled Buddhist monk Menke Bateer, which includes slam-dunking a melon into the head of a man on the third floor of a building. Whilst effectively choreographed, the fighting is not overly stylised. The sense that these are real human beings not superheroes is enhanced by some very effective, almost naturalistic wound makeup, and the use of the painful, gory, energy sapping chain whips employed by the assassins to drag the bodyguards down under weight of numbers. In this film, martial arts hurt.
Two acting performances stand out beside the martial artists. Wang Xueqi’s portrayal of Li Yutang, a businessman who gives everything: money, reputation and even his only son to the revolution. His performance deservedly won him the Best Actor award at the Fourth Asian Film Awards. Heartbreakingly loyal rickshaw servant A’si is played to great effect by Nicholas Tse, who won the Best Supporting Actor award at the same ceremony.
Amid the running battles, elegant Wushu demonstrations and desperate rickshaw chase sequences, the white helmeted figure of Dr Sun moves calmly to his places of meeting, showing no outward sign of the bloody sacrifice being made to allow him to succeed. The sheer scale of the brutality arrayed against Dr Sun and his defenders has one willing them to succeed in a mission that begins to take on the unmistakeable feeling of a one way ticket, as each defender is called upon to make still greater sacrifice.
As his introduction drew to an end, Peter Sun was asked if the film answered the question of “Who was Sun Yat Sen?”
“He was a person who worked so hard to build up China,” he began. “One hundred years after his death, you see his work. He never grew rich or took from the country. For him, the building of China was the most important thing. How many politicians can say that?”
In saying this, Peter Sun effectively conceded that Bodyguards And Assassins is not really a film about his grandfather. Dr Sun appears in the film only briefly. But through the skilled interweaving of political thriller and Chinese hero myth, the film succeeds in conveying his importance, in the willingness of ordinary and extra-ordinary people alike to sacrifice everything for his success. In that, Bodyguards And Assassins is not just a hugely watchable martial arts experience, but a surprisingly effective vehicle for a political subtext that echoes in China to this day. NB
