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Once Upon a Time in China is a Tsui Hark produced kung fu tour de force. Starring Jet Li in the role of Wong Fei Hong, the legendary character from pre-turn-of-the-century Canton, this film is non-stop action and top production values.
There is a film that is currently (3-18-2001) under consideration for both the picture of the year and best foreign film award from the motion picture industry. It is called, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and it is truly a very good Asian film. A testament to this is its wide popularity in this country even though it is presented in Mandarin dialog with English subtitles. It's almost unheard of for Americans to give anything more than cursory attention to a subtitled film yet this movie is hugely successful. I have seen it and like it as well.
That notwithstanding, Once Upon a Time in China is, in my opinion, the superior film, though sadly, many in this country who have seen "... Tiger ..." will never see this film. It is not for lack of availability, Columbia Tristar has made it available on DVD (in both Catonese/English subtitle and English dubbed form). And, the price is right for under twenty-five dollars.
"... China" takes place in the 1800's at a time when competing foreign interests were laying claim to trade opportunities with the country. The influx of these influences threaten some of the more traditional ways of life. Chinese peasants are being lured away to serve as cheap (or slave) labor abroad. Martial arts schools are coming under close scrutiny and those that thrive are those who hold sway at court, or with the local authorities. And, as always, there is a thread of local corruption to contend with.
Wong Fei Hong is a local hero, a healer and a martial arts practitioner nonpareil. He is suspicious of foreigners, though not altogether prejudiced against them. He is very traditional and wonders about China's fate against so many governments anchored in the harbor.
Much of the time that he does not spend administering to the sick, he spends making up for the hijinks of his over-eager students. Although practitioners of martial arts, they are forbidden to brawl in public as it reflects badly on the school and his position with the local authorities is somewhat precarious. He is a favorite among the locals, though and his reputation does carry a great deal of weight. Foreign nationals recognize him as a threat to their plans and set out to assassinate him.
The plot of the film is basically centered around the slave smuggling and leads to a climax with Wong and his disciples arrayed against local thugs and the foreigners who would steal away his countrymen.
In the meantime, there are side plots with Wong receiving some introduction to western culture through his "aunt" 13 (Aunt Yee), who harbors a secret love for him (she is not his real aunt but carries the title through some familial hierarchy). A peasant martial arts master, looking to make a name for himself and establish a school, comes onto the scene and challenges Wong. And, Wong's students provide ample opportunity for him to save their hides, forcing him to break his own "no fighting" policy.
Jet Li's energy and acrobatic martial arts skills punctuate the fight scenes with an energy that will leave you exhausted by the end of this movie. The production values are very high, with quality costumes and set pieces, as well as a host of entertaining characters which add a lot of richness to the film. There are indeed some stretches to the imagination, in terms of what is and what is not humanly possible, but are not so totally unbelievable that the film loses its credibility.
This film was made prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China, but I think it sounds some nationalistic themes that may have been intended to show the mainland that the Hong Kong film industry was positioned to align itself along Chinese cultural themes. While the historical record would probably not contest that America had a less than honorable role in the region at that time, I think it helped that the US was portrayed as the bad guys in this film.
Outside of the significance of Bruce Lee's film legacy, and Jackie Chan's incredible body of work notwithstanding, I would count this film as the one martial arts film to see, if you were to choose only one in a lifetime. It certainly is an excellent introduction to the genre, though most others will pale by comparison.
There are six entries in the series, if you can call it that. This is the only one I have seen as being available from Columbia Tristar in this format. I have seen the others available from Tai Seng, but I'm inclined to hold out as their copies are usually very poorly subtitled. I have seen the first, second, third and sixth entry, and my recollection is that only the second compares well against the original, though all are entertaining.
3-20-2001