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Iron Monkey is a fun Hong Kong actioner in the same spirit of Once Upon a Time in China. And, why not, it comes from the same creative people, and features a similar time and setting. In fact, the central character of OUTIC, Wong Fei Hong, is a little boy in Iron Monkey.
Long story short, the Iron Monkey is a local Robin Hood, stealing from the local corrupt governor and distributing the wealth among the poor and down trodden. The man behind the mask is a local doctor, Yang, who moves in the circles of the governor and chief constable while having compassion for the afflictions of the poor. His assistant, Orchid is a former prostitute, we later find out, whom he had purchased out of servitude long ago. She is now trained in martial arts as well as some medicine, and she assists Iron Monkey sometimes during his nighttime forays.
The Wong Fei Hong connection is that Wong's father, also a physician and kung fu master, as well as Fei Hong are traveling through the area and are arrested as possible suspects for who might be the Iron Monkey. In order to win their freedom, Fei Hong's father pursues the Iron Monkey. Ultimately, the identity of Iron Monkey becomes known to the elder Wong and they team up to fight the variety of villains the film has to offer.
I have wanted to see this movie for a long time. It was made in 1993 and made it through the Hong Kong film festival, here in Chicago, a number of years ago. I missed it then, regrettably, but I was not disappointed by the film having finally caught it in its current run. I am grateful that they released it in its original dialog with (very readable) English subtitles. I am a huge fan of OUTIC and this film is in that class. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has received much attention, and not all of it undeserved, but I would not place it up there with either Iron Monkey nor OUTIC as a martial arts films. Does Iron Monkey have unrealistic martial arts fighting scenes? Which martial arts films do not? The scenes are well choreographed and each of the main characters, even the young Fei Hong, are well-featured in their own fight sequences.
If you enjoy action, without the huge pyrotechnics that characterize modern Hollywood fare, and with easily defined heroes in terms of good versus bad, this movie delivers on all scores. It is also a film that kids can see, though not the very young. I had a great time with it and will add it to my collection when it becomes available on DVD.
The Dagger of Ka Mui was later released in complete subtitled form and there was a subsequent dubbed release called, The Blade of Ka Mui.
"Dagger ..." is the story of Jiro, a young boy growing up in a small village. He is a foundling and lives with his adoptive mother and sister. One day, the mother and sister are found tragically murdered. The villagers immediately accuse Jiro and he escapes their clutches only to encounter an itinerant monk, Tenkai, who tells Jiro that he knows who killed his mother and sister. In fact, the perpetrator is at that very moment in a life-and-death struggle with a band of ninjas (aka shinobi). Overwhelmed, the killer is delivered the death blow by Jiro himself who is then taken in by Tenkai and trained in the ways of the ninja.
Several years pass as we observe Jiro's training until, as a young adult (they do not give his age but you may surmise that he is about seventeen), he is sent on a mission to discover the secrets of a treasure.
If we have not already guessed we soon learn that Tenkai is not the benevolent monk he appears to be but is, in fact, the sponsor of the death of Jiro's mother and sister. In fact, the ninja that Jiro had earlier helped kill was not the murderer at all but Jiro's father, Tarouza. Tarouza had once been a ninja himself, sent on a mission for treasure. During that time, he met and married an Anu woman (Anu are the indigenous people of northern Japan, especially Hokkaido which was called Ezo at the time of this story.). Abandoning his mission, Tarouza intends to settle down with the woman but they are hunted by his former ninja band, and the family is dispersed, Jiro being set adrift in a boat where he is eventually found.
Tenkai's theory is that, given the resources and the same mission, Jiro may instinctively retrace his father's footsteps and complete the mission.
Jiro eventually pieces together the elements of his betrayal and meets a number of persons along the way of this epic story that takes him from northern Japan to America, including the Nevadan desert and the California coast. In his travels, he meets a young boy who leads him back to the village of his birth where he finds his real mother. Later, he meets a hermit scholar who teaches him a little about world geography and hints at the coming events.
I should note that the story takes place in the 1860's and is very near the downfall of the Shogunate which has ruled Japan through an unbroken family line since about 1600. Foreign ships sail the waters off of Japan and their are pressures from Russia, the United States, France and others for Japan to open up her ports and markets.
Jiro finds passage to America, befriending an African-American slave in the process, and also forming an uneasy alliance with a female ninja whose mission it is to kill Jiro. Because of an incident on the ship, all three are put off in Russia, and they fight bitter cold and near starvation in their attempt to find another route to America. After an avalanche separates them, we later join the characters in America without being given details on Jiro's escape from the avalanche, nor how Sam (the former slave whom Jiro has purchased and freed) and Oyuki (the female ninja) have made the crossing.
In America, Jiro finds himself in Nevada (we're never told how he has ended up here as it was already known to him that his ultimate destination was Santa Catalina island off the California coast). Near death, he nevertheless saves a native American girl from being savagely raped by some desperados. He is taken to her village where we later learn that she is in fact a French girl whom the tribe took in as a baby. Her tribal name is Chico while her birth name is Julie.
Jiro and Chico travel to a nearby town as he has revealed he is searching for Santa Catalina and she tells him the saloon in town has the same name. Perhaps the owner knows where the real Catalina Island is. In the saloon, Jiro and Chico are humiliated by the locals and Jiro is forced into a duel with two of the thugs, resulting in their deaths. Having fled the town, Jiro and Chico are approached by a lone rider. It's none other than Mark Twain! Twain has been a witness to the incident in the bar and subsequent duel. He explains that something about Jiro's spirit reminds him of an ethic that is fading as America enters the industrial age. He tells Jiro how to get to Catalina island and relates that there are stories of treasure buried there.
Meanwhile, Oyuki, Sam and the canine companion they had befriended before leaving Asia have made their way to southern California. They too are weak and penniless, and Tenkai, Oyuki's employer has caught up to them as well.
The story comes to a head as Jiro follows the clues to the treasure and the principles confront each other over the booty. Certain plot twists are revealed and death pays a visit to each side in what might well be the end if this story were crafted in Hollywood.
More adventures lay ahead for Jiro and what's left of his companions as they race to meet with the forces that will change Japan forever, and the true climax of this story has yet to occur.
As much as I have told you about the story, there is a wealth of plot twists and story line that I have omitted. It is truly an epic tale done in classic anime style.
The video is available through AnimEigo which does an excellent job on production. Their subtitling is thorough and they include detailed liner notes with their product. They can be found at http://www.animeigo.com.
3-11-2001