Dragon (2011 film)

Wu Xia
Hong Kong film poster
Directed by	Peter Chan
Written by	Aubrey Lam
Produced by	Peter Chan Huang Jianxin Jojo Hui
Starring	Donnie Yen Takeshi Kaneshiro Tang Wei
Cinematography	Lai Yiu-fai Jake Pollock
Edited by	Derek Hui
Music by	Chan Kwong-wing Peter Kam
Production companies	We Pictures Stellar Mega Films Dingsheng Cultural Industry Investment Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation Yunnan Film Group
Distributed by	We Distributions Lark Films Distribution
Release dates	13 May 2011 (2011-05-13) (Cannes Film Festival) 28 July 2011 (2011-07-28) (Hong Kong)
Running time	111 minutes (Cannes) 116 minutes (Hong Kong) 114 minutes (China)
Countries	Template:Film Hong Kong Template:Film China
Languages	Mandarin and Sichuanese (CN/TW) Cantonese (HK)
Budget	US$20 million

Wu Xia or Swordsmen is a 2011 martial arts thriller film directed by Peter Chan and starring Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tang Wei. Yen also served as the film's action director. It premiered on 13 May 2011 at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in the Midnight Screenings category. Donnie Yen and Peter Chan presided over the lighting of a billboard for Wu Xia that broke the Guinness Book of World Records for its size, 3591 square meters, previously held by a poster for a Michael Jackson album.

Plot

The film is set in 1917 in a post-Qing Dynasty era, at Liu Village on the border of Yunnan, China.

Liu Jinxi and his wife Yu are an ordinary couple with two sons, Fangzheng and Xiaotian, living together in Liu Village. One day two bandits enter the village and attempt to rob the general store. Liu Jinxi happens to be in the shop and he fights with the robbers when they turn violent towards the shopkeeper and his family. He kills them during the fight. During an autopsy, detective Xu Baijiu, who is sent to investigate the case, discovers that one of the dead bandits was Yan Dongsheng, who is among the government's ten most wanted fugitives. The local magistrate is pleased, and Liu Jinxi is regarded as a hero by his fellow villagers.

However Xu becomes suspicious because he does not believe that Yan Dongsheng, a fighter, could be easily killed by Liu, who appears to be a mere paper worker. Based on traces of evidence in the shop and Liu and other witnesses' recollections of the fight, in addition to his extensive knowledge on physiology, Xu is able to deduce that Liu is in fact a highly skilled martial artist, as well as the actual events during the fight after noting signs of brain hemorrhaging due to an injury on Yan Dongsheng's Vagus nerve. From subsequent observation, investigation and tests, and information gathered by his partner, Xu learns of Liu's true identity - Tang Long, the second-in-command of the 72 Demons, a group of vicious and bloodthirsty warriors of Tangut descent, who brutally murdered a butcher's family in Jingzhou ten years ago. Xu immediately returns to the county office to obtain an arrest warrant for Tang Long.

The magistrate delays issuing the warrant, citing lack of evidence while actually soliciting for a bribe from Xu. Xu eventually obtains the bribe money from his estranged wife, who blames him for causing her father's suicide. After issuing the warrant, the magistrate informs the Master of the 72 Demons on Tang Long's whereabouts, hoping to receive a reward. The Master is offended and reveals that Tang is actually his son, and he kills the magistrate by severing his Vagus nerve.

The Master sends his henchmen to Liu Village to capture Tang and burn down the place. While Xu and the constables are on their way there, two henchmen reach the village and kill a villager to force Tang to acknowledge his identity. Tang can no longer control himself and he fights and kills the two assailants, one of whom is the Master's wife. The remaining villagers retreat to a fortress to hide from the 72 Demons while Tang and Xu stay behind. In the meantime Xu devises a plan, utilising his knowledge of physiology, for Tang to fake his death so the 72 Demons will no longer harass him. When the Demons arrive they lament over Tang's death but Xu knows that Tang cannot remain in his "death" state for too long so when time is up he revives Tang. Tang severs his left arm in front of the Demons, announcing that he has formally broken ties with them, but they also tell him that the Master is waiting for him at his house.

When Tang reaches home he sees that the Master has taken his family hostage. After a tense encounter, the Master declares that he will let Tang go but he must take Xiaotian's blood as a trade. Tang is enraged and he attacks the Master with a broadsword but to no avail, since the Master uses qigong to protect himself from the blade. Xu infiltrates the house through a hatch and he weakens the Master's defense during the fight by piercing his heel with an acupuncture needle from underneath the floor. The Master is angered and incapacitates Xu. Tang continues fighting but is quickly overpowered by the Master. Just as the Master prepares to kill Tang, Xu notices the needle still stuck in his heel and takes him by surprise, planting another needle in the Master's neck. The Master is unfazed and mortally wounds Xu by slamming him hard to the ground. The top needle acts as a lightning rod, and in combination with the bottom needle acting as an earthing wire, the Master is charred by a lightning strike, killing him. Xu, with his dying breath, declares the case closed. The ending scene of the film shows a now one-armed Tang Long leading a normal life with his family.

Cast

• Donnie Yen as Liu Jinxi. He is actually Tang Long, son of the Master.
• Takeshi Kaneshiro as Xu Baijiu, a detective versed in physiology and acupuncture who seeks to uphold justice. He is a native of Wenjiang, Sichuan, so he speaks Sichuanese.
• Tang Wei as Yu, Liu Jinxi's wife.
• Jimmy Wang as the Master, leader of the 72 Demons and Tang Long's father.
• Kara Hui as 13th Madam, the Master's wife.
• Li Xiaoran as Xu Baijiu's estranged wife.
• Jiang Wu as Yan Dongsheng, Xu's investigator.
• Zheng Wei as Liu Fangzheng, Yu's son from her previous marriage who was adopted by Liu Jinxi.
• Li Jiamin as Liu Xiaotian, Liu Jinxi and Yu's son.
• Ethan Ruan as the young convict, who poisoned his parents and attempted to kill Xu Baijiu.
• Chun Hyn as the tavern owner
• Wan To-shing as Xu Kun, one of the 72 Demons.

Reception

Justin Chang of Variety describes the film as "a satisfyingly sinewy fusion of martial-arts actioner and brain-tickling noir from busy producer-director Peter Ho-sun Chan. Channeling David Cronenberg's A History of Violence by way of 1917 China, this clever if over-amped thriller tackles themes of identity, honor and the latent killer instinct with a playful spirit that's never at odds with its underlying seriousness." Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter describes it as "an exhilarating martial arts entertainment that modernizes the genre while re-emphasizing its strong points."

Box office

The film topped China's box office and grossed over 100 million yuan (US$15.6 million) in its first opening week.

Production

The idea of making Wu Xia reportedly started when Donnie Yen and Peter Chan were having a conversation and realised that both of them have a passion for the martial arts films of the 1960s and 1970s, especially One-Armed Swordsman (1967), the film directed by Chang Cheh that propelled actor Jimmy Wang (who played the titular protagonist) to stardom. Peter Chan explained that Wu Xia is a homage to One-Armed Swordsman, but not a remake or re-imagination in any form. The decision to have Donnie Yen's character lose an arm was confirmed after filming had started, and due to the fact that many people had the impression that Wu Xia was a remake of One-Armed Swordsman.

References

http://www.timeout.com.hk/film/features/44135/peter-chan.html

External links

• Wu Xia at IMDb
• Wu Xia at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase