Chinese cinema classics : Once Upon a time in China

 

Today I want to cover another classic movie from the early 90's, from the height of Jet Li's popularity. It was this very series of movies that launched Li's career into the stratosphere! Li was in virtually every movie going forward and everyone was humming George Lam's tune about becoming a hero. I remember going to the cinema in Chinatown with a group of friends to watch the first movie on the silver screen. Everything from the cinematography to the fight choreography was new and fresh. This felt like the start of a new era in martial art cinema. The highly stylized action sequences were to become the standard of which modern Hong Kong gong fu flicks would have to adhere to. I actually prefer this style of fight choreography over the fancier wire fu used in movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where pugilists would fly through the air while clashing! The more grounded style of fighting would be used for other productions such as Fong Sai Yuk, Tai Chi Master, and the Donnie Yen vehicles Ip Man, adding to the realism.

The story follows the exploits of pugilist and physician, Wong Fei Hong of Foshan who runs a medicinal hall, Po Chi Lam. The story opens with Wong attending a lion dance event aboard a ship. As the firecrackers go off, the French navy fires on them, thinking they have been attacked. Wong has to save the day. This event sets the tone for the rest of the movie with the exploitation of the Chinese people by the gwai lou (foreign devils). This trope has been done to death by Hong Kong cinema, and by Hollywood. The American company, working in tandem with a local militia group recruit locals with the promise of 'jing shan'(gold mountain). These workers are instead sold as slaves to build infrastructure in America. They also abduct women folk to serve as comfort women. Racial stereotypes abound. The only saving grace of this movie is the the Catholic priest who sacrifices himself to save Wong for his beliefs. I cringe every time I see these being used to further the narratives. My hope is that one day we can move away from using this as a plot device!

Anyway back to the story at hand. Enter Iron Vest Yim, a struggling pugilist trying to eke out a living. A chance encounter allows Yuen Biao's Leung Fu to meet him as they challenge Wong to a sparring match. They travel to Po Chi Lam, and Leung Fu is ashamed to show his face as he tried to become a pupil earlier. He is defeated, and falls into bad company with the militia group. He is recruited as muscle for the group. They attack the governor's ball and Wong once again thwarts their plan. The foreign dignitaries present are disgusted by the barbaric display and blame the francas on Wong and his followers. The militia also decide to hit Wong where it hurts and burn Po Chi Lam to the ground. Wong and his followers are arrested and imprisoned. Things come to a head when they capture  the 13th  aunt and Wong finds out about their nefarious plans. He is released by a sympathetic official who sees the light. He goes up against Master Yim one last time and defeats him again. He saves 13th  aunt and tries to rescue Yim. He is however shot by the Americans and dies in Wong's arms. The troops arrives and saves all the locals who are about to be sent over.

I highly recommend watching this movie for its significance in the reinvigoration and it's stylistic influence on the martial arts genre. It really helps that the first movie also had a star studded cast with Rosamund Kwan as the 13th  aunt, Jacky Cheung as Bucktooth, and Yuen Biao as Leung Fu, something that was severely lacking in the next few.