The Legend of the Fist

We started today's slate of screenings with "The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen", directed by Andrew Lau.

It was anything but opaque -- a full-blown martial arts extravaganza set in a divided Shanghai in 1925. As Chinese nationals, a Japanese occupying army and assorted Brits and Yanks vie for control of the city, one man fights for his people.

The best part of the film were the fight scenes, which were brilliantly staged to give a clear sense of where bodies were in space (as opposed to presenting a blizzard of rapid-fire edits that serve only to confuse the viewer.

Unfortunately, the film faltered outside of these scenes. Only a few of the characters were fully developed and the relationship between Chen Zhen and Kiki, the singer at the Casablanca night club was played badly.

Worth seeing for the fight scenes and an interesting prologue showing the role of Chinese labourers in the first world war.
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