Thailand…Film…Buddism…Religion?

Its been a long time since i actually went and had a good look at maps… 
Never quite realize how close burma, laos, cambodia, vietnam and thailand really were…Anyways…This is a good website to get reliable links to the history of thailand:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/thailand/resources/thailand-history.html
(includes photos and stuff:))

Thai Cinema (good old wiki)
Post-war years

A poster for the 1970 film, Insee tong, in which Mitr Chaibancha died while filming the helicopter stunt. His co-star in the film, and scores of others, was leading lady Petchara Chaowarat.

After the end of the Second World War, filmmaking got under way again in Thailand using surplus 16 mm black-and-white stock from wartime newsreel production.

The 1970s and ’80s
Thailand saw an explosion of locally produced films during the 1970s after the Thai government imposed a heavy tax on imported films in 1977, which led to a boycott of Thailand by Hollywood studios. To pick up the slack, 150 Thai films were made in 1978 alone. Many of these films were low-grade action films and were derided by critics and scholars as “nam nao” or “stinking water”.

The Thai New Wave
By 1981, Hollywood studios were once again sending films to Thailand. Also, television (see also Media in Thailand) was a growing part of Thai culture. This was a low period for the Thai film industry, and by the mid-1990s, studio output was averaging about 10 films per year.

Thai avant garde
With the New Wave directors achieving commercial and artistic success, a new crop of filmmakers has grown up outside the traditional and often restrictive Thai studio system to create experimental short films and features.

The leader of this indie movement is Apichatpong Weerasethakul, whose 2002 feature Blissfully Yours won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Thai Film a Turning Point by Joe Cummings
http://www.tatnews.org/emagazine/1728.asp
I think it was mentioned in the lecture about the year 2000 and the change to Thai Film

Apichatpong Weerasesotkul:“His prize in Cannes helped Thai Film reach an international audience and served to encourage young filmmakers (especially Indie Film makers)in Thailand.”
http://www.thaicinema.org/news&scoops49_1.asp (quite bad english translation but interesting stuff)

Now if there was any country that had every aspect of their lives closely related to religion it has to be thailand… 95% of the people are buddhist…

Thailand used to be a very peaceful country but come 20th-21st century, due to various reasons… globalization? opening up of trade / tourism … influences… it has been in the news quite a lot and there was a period of religious clashing and bombing…death and casualties…

For some strange reason thailand in 2006, when i was back in singapore…the news was constantly updating the latest in thailand… it kind of reminded me of the calm before a storm…my aunt  (who is thai) was there just before the 2006 Thai coup d’état and she said that you could cut the air (filled with tension) with a knife!

I rem my history teacher (in secondary school) commenting “A peaceful country, a self sufficient country in terms of natural resources and people…full of warm simple folk… lives disrupted…” I guess…it is never what it seems and…Ah well…politics… no wonder why some people call it a “dirty” word. Politics- money – fame – it makes people do crazy things…

Alrighty…my brain…is being clogged with the flu… this is all for now…

Blissfully Yours/Sud Sanaeha

Hmm, it could be the flu…or my brain in a state of mush that affected my viewing today… i did see the need to create a connecting chart for the rest of the films (like Ten or for 4) but i did for this…haha…

It could be the fact that it was drastically different from any thai film i have ever seen…or the loss of subtitles when Min was talking (i presume) in Burmese to the guards, or his “drawings” appearing while the acting was going on in the back or the various sound effects that distracted me…

I have a few questions…

1) What was the name of the guy who hit on Min while he was waiting for Orn, and helped Orn with the weird cream mixture and then rode after them on a bike AND finally was having sex with her in the forest…

2) Why did Orn feed her husband the cream? Why did he have a silly grin on his face?

3) WHY oh WHY are they concocting weird cream with veg and stuff? To keep Min? To have a reason to touch him?

4) The ending scene when Roong was “playing” with Min’s organ…now…was it just me or was there werid sounds in the background admist the sound of nature and flowing water… was it Orn crying?

I did feel like it was a bit like Ten in the way the camera was sometimes showing the back of the road while the car was travelling and then moving to show the front of the road…I guess it was like a roadtrip and the seemingly peaceful slow lazy town… (only till it was mentioned in the lecture that it was suppose to be a town situated near the border of Burma did i go “OH!” haha)

It was mentioned in the lecture that the Sun was the “main” cast and that it represented the source of energy which answered the question in my mind, of why was it all in the day and no night scenes… I think what amazed me was how the “DAY” seem to stretch on and on maybe it was meant to reflect the gradual progression and mundane actions but still… slightly too snail like a pace for me…

Now…i must say i am not that big a fan of nature and the sounds from rustling of leaves, insects making insect noises.. did make me feel a bit tingly all over *even though we were in a lecture theatere…but as for the ANTS…I mean ASIDE from the obvious that they were outdoors…

Could it be that no matter where they run to (be it the top of the forest where the scenery was breathtaking or to the side of the stream…the ants followed)…

I saw the ANTS, a representational of the law…or the crack down on Burmese and that even if they retreat or escape into a so called isolated secluded area like the Forest, they are never able to fully get away?

MMM this to be has been the hardest to film to digest…maybe its just the foreigness of it…or the squirming in my seat as some scenes were really pretty hard to stomach…

Ah as beautifully written in:
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/06/38/blissfully_yours.html
“Though little may happen in conventional narrative terms, at the level of sensual affect, the impact is all but overwhelming with the viewer drawn steadily and inexorably into the film’s swirling emotional eddies and the characters’ desperate attempts to find happiness in the interstices of everyday life and its alienating discontents.”

All Good Things

Back from the last class…

This song represents how im feeling i guess…

Revisiting Spring Summer Autumn Winter Spring

 

So, i was suppose to be doing some readings but i got distracted by Kim Ki Duk’s film on SBS last night…

This time, sitting on the sofa, alone, watching it, i somehow got something different out of it, maybe because my memory of it was already hazy, or the buddhist elements some how did not seem to strike me as much as it did the last time…

When the film came to and end… i was thinking about excess baggage…

If you watch this film, having no knowledge of korea, buddhism etc
I am pretty sure somethings that will strike you would be

The saying : Do not to others what you would not want others to do to you
Learning from one’s mistake – repentance – paying the price or facing the music
And most most importantly letting go…not carrying and heaving that excess baggage (not phyiscal) but emotional and mental around…

I think that the reason this film can be watched over and over again is its like Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen (not that the movie is as lengthy and thick and hard to grasp like the book) but that when you revisit it, you get something new out of it each time…

Also the chanting, calligraphy, carving and statues… I am not sure what it all meant but yea i intend to investigate then when i get back with some friends

OOO yea… i just wanna say…or rather i am wondering…what is with the fascination with Heroes, Bionic Woman etc…

 

 …is it a ‘Superhuman phenomena’ to cope with increasing threats in the world like terrorism or something?

It seems to me that it is similar to that of “asian” martial arts and the underlying “chinese” concept or as i feel…the need for the entire universe and all of humanity to stop thinking of what they can get out of it but to extending a helping hand…small or big

Now…sadly i am off to the last screening and lecture for this semester:(

Chinese Martial Arts – Wu Xia – Seven Swords

Chinese martial arts is a very broad termininology, and it includes a enormous variety of martial arts styles originating from China.

Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with Chinese martial arts. 

The terms kung fu (Chinese: 功夫 pinyin: gōngfū) and wushu (traditional Chinese: 武術; simplified Chinese: 武术) have very distinct connotations. Each term can describe different martial arts traditions and can also be used in a context without referencing martial arts.

Colloquially, kung fu (or gong fu) alludes to any individual accomplishment or cultivated skill. In contrast, wushu is a more precise term that refers to general martial activities.

The term wushu has also become the name for a modern sport similar to gymnastics involving the performance of adapted Chinese bare-handed and weapons forms (tàolù 套路) judged to a set of contemporary aesthetic criteria for points.

Sword (JIAN)- http://www.chinesesword.net/Swordplay/Swordplay1E.htm
It is not just for fighting but to cultivate one’s mind and body, when comparing Chinese sword with say the western or japanese, they all have something in common which is the need to cultivate oneself, put in a lot of hard work and many years of training in order to master it.

What is has become today: http://en.olympic.cn/china_oly/wushu_art/2003-11-27/19285.html

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And on to the wu xia pian…
http://www.kungfucinema.com/categories/wuxiapien.htm

All throughout Chinese film history there exists two major categories of martial arts film, the wuxia pian and kung fu. Where kung fu, which is grounded in reality and has its roots in Hong Kong’s Cantonese serials based upon the legends of famous martial arts masters like Wong Fei-hung, the wuxia pian has existed as a popular storytelling genre in written form since the 9th century.

Wuxia Pian as a storytelling genre draws from Chinese mythology and the more esoteric aspects of martial arts. It usually chronicles the exploits of heroic knights who fight to uphold justice in a mythical realm where powerful clans of heroes and villains dominate society and vie for control of the “martial world.” Common elements to these stories include swordplay, flying, magic, weapons infused with special properties, and elaborate lairs or traps.

In the mid-’60s a new brand of wuxia film emerged, one increasingly influenced by Japanese samurai action found in jidai geki (period dramas). Japanese cinema had become far more sophisticated in production standards and popular samurai films like The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) were taking on a realistic and increasingly bloody style of swordplay. In response, Hong Kong filmmakers moved swordplay in wuxia a little closer to reality by depicting heroes as having developed supreme skills through years of training rather than through magic. These skills featured little or no magical elements, only exaggerated proficiency.

Temple of the Red Lotus (1965) and The Jade Bow (1966) are key transitional films from this period and illustrate the changing face of wuxia as they contain elements from both vintage and modern wuxia. It was King Hu’s Come Drink With Me, with its eye-catching art direction and sophisticated action choreography that more fully defined the modern wuxia film.

Leading the charge were two of the studio’s top directors, Chang Cheh and Chor Yuen. Chang brought excessive bloodletting and the male hero to the forefront with classics such as One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Have Swordsman, Will Travel (1969). As the kung fu movie boom set in with the rise of Bruce Lee in the early 1970s, Chang adapted his own brand of wuxia to modern day and period kung fu movies. In contrast, Chor Yuen remained faithful to the wuxia tradition and became synonymous with cinematic adaptations of popular wuxia novels of the era written by the likes of Gu Long. These stories were usually complex and featured large casts of unusual characters wielding equally unusual weapons. Following the release of an eclectic mix of films, Chor found his wuxia stride by 1976 with the release The Magic Blade.

Tsui Hark’s A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) is generally credited with kicking off Hong Kong’s wire-enhanced return to martial arts filmmaking following the ’80s dominance of modern action films and comedies.

Even moviegoers unfamiliar with wuxia films have likely seen one, namely Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Taiwanese director Ang Lee did what no other Chinese filmmaker had done before. He made a wuxia film hip and accessible for mainstream Western audiences with a sophisticated story and character development.

With this film’s release, the wuxia pian had come full circle for Ang Lee’s influences were clear, having drawn from King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (1971) among other wuxia films the director recalled as a child. No longer the black and white serials with simple good versus evil plots, the genre had reached a new pinnacle of technical and artistic excellence.

Although slow in coming, this has led top mainland Chinese directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige to see the artistic potential of wuxia films. Zhang’s Hero (2002) continues the trend set by Ang Lee where high production values, stunning art direction, a thoughtful story, and brilliant wirework are driving the wuxia film into uncharted and exciting territory.

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Seven swords: has every element necessary for a succesful wuxia pian, seven different characters from all different backgrounds all over china, they are on a mission to protect and along the way romance blossoms and loyalties are tested, and like every wuxia pian it has flying/sword fighting/martial arts and really strang weapons. A visual and sensory experience!

Seven Swords – Cast

 The Cast

also known as Liu Chia-Liang who plays the role of Fu Qingzhu is a famous Hong Kong Chinese martial arts film director, choreographer and actor. His experience probably contributed to the very well choreographed martial art scenes in the movie espicially the swordplay between Donnie Yen who acts as Chu Zhaonan and the main evil guy (mr baldy) where they are emeshed between two walls.

Donnie Yen…

The son of martial arts master Bow Sim Mark, Yen was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He is a well known film and television actor in Hong Kong and, more recently, in the West, having been featured in many movies with prominent, internationally known actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.

From a young age, Yen was interested in martial arts of all kind, experimenting with various styles, from Taekwondo to Wushu. After dropping out of school, Yen decided to stick with Wushu, moved to Beijing to train further with the Beijing Wushu Team. During his training in China, his instructor Mr. Lee demanded Donnie cut his hippie-style mullet as it was inappropriate. When he wanted to return to the United States, he made a side trip to Hong Kong and it was there that he met Yuen Woo-ping, a famous Hong Kong fight choreographer. Yen’s first film role was at age 21 in 1984 in the film Xiao Tai Ji. The film revolved around drunken Tai Chi, and although not a critical success, the film helped Yen to achieve further notability.

However, Yen gained his breakthrough role in 1992 as General Lan in Once Upon a Time in China II. His final fight against Wong Fei-Hung (Jet Li) remains one of the most celebrated fights in martial arts films to this day. This fight scene could be considered one of the very best in martial arts films.

I must say:

Charlie Yeung - Wu Yuanying
Lu Yi – Han Zhibang
Duncan Chow – Mu Lang
Kim So Yeon - Green Pearl

To me, it was amazing, they were so different! Charlie Yeung, Duncan Chow, Lu Yi, from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China (respectively) compared to their usual sterotypical romantic roles, (they have each tried singing careers that did not really take off) it was a different take. Esp, to see Kim So Yeon, as this helpless, dramatic slave, as compared to the roles she takes on in drama serials…WOW! Sadly it has been said in Korea that she has a face that is typical of the scheming type of woman, and it seems to have happened in this film too…

However i must say 2 actors that i just wanted to L.O.L

Leon Lai - Yang Yuncong
Michael Wong – The Duke

Leon Lai cannot act , this film still shows he cannot act, how he got cast i will never understand, there are thousand of china (hongkong) actors who are MUCH MUCH more suitable…

When Michael Wong appeared as the Duke i had to stop myself from laughing… sorry but i think it has to do with his VERY UN CHINESE looking face (even with all that facial hair)…

So far, i have been trying to look up information on Han Zhi Bang’s love interest, the girl who falls for Donnie Yen’s character but not much luck…Also the 2 actors who made up the 7 swords… I suspect it is because the 3 of them are from China and they may be popular back home but information is majorly lacking!!

Same thing goes for the evil character and his cronies…
i will continue to try but yea… thats all for now on the cast…

The China(HongKong)-Taiwan-Japan-Korea Collaboration

I do not know if anyone noticed but in Seven Swords, it was a multi national cast (will tear it apart in next entry) in the mean time these few films are worth a watch and like the heading of the post, they consist of actors/actresses from those countries…some of them have sword play, martial arts, emprical dynastys and so on…

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) by Lee Ang is China-Hong Kong-Taiwan-United States co-production. Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat (Hong Kong), Michelle Yeoh (Malaysian), Zhang Ziyi(China) and Chang Chen (Taiwan). REALLY a surprise international success, that became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. Winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for a total of ten Academy Awards including Best Picture. I GUESS..it WOULD be a good place to start for novices in terms of getting a insight into martial arts and swordplay…

Hero (2002) by Zhang Yimou. A group of assassins: Flying Snow (飛雪) (Maggie Cheung), Broken Sword (殘劍) (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), and Sky (長空) (Donnie Yen), have sworn to kill the King of Qin (秦王) (Chen Daoming), and Nameless (無名) (Jet Li) comes to the royal capital to claim the reward offered for their defeat. The movie tells the story of his conversation with the King of Qin, and the flashbacks depicted the journey he took to earn the honor of sitting before the emperor. Zhang Ziyi stars as Broken Sword’s servant Moon (如月). I found the aesthetic backgrounds and use of computer animation for this particular film to be amazing…

Hmmm i think this may be useful at this point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_China

Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a 2004 action/adventure film from China, and is directed by He Ping. The film is in Mandarin, with some Japanese. It was made in 2003, but was only released internationally the following year.

The film’s score and soundtrack are composed by A. R. Rahman, which features 16 tracks including the theme song in 3 languages, Chinese (Mandarin), English and Hindi. The film features the theme song Mirage (Warriors In Peace), sung by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai.

It is basically a classic battle between good and evil, set in the Gobi Dessert. I must say China actress Zhao Wei who capulated to fame thanks to the role  of Xiao Yan Zi (Little Swallow) in My Fair Princess did give a fairly commendable performance…

House of Flying Daggers (Chinese: 十面埋伏; pinyin: shí miàn mái fú), is a 2004 action/romance movie directed by Zhang Yimou.

The film is set in the once great Tang Dynasty which is now on the decline. Numerous rebel groups have formed, the largest of which is the House of Flying Daggers, based in Feng Tian county. The Flying Daggers steal from the rich and give to the poor, gaining the support of the locals. Slight similarities to Robin Hood…but somehow not as good as Hero (same director)…

Now…the KOREAN connection

 

The Myth (Chinese: 神话; pinyin: Shenhua) is a 2005 Chinese film directed by Stanley Tong starring Jackie Chan,Tony Leung Ka Fai, KOREAN actress Kim Hee-sun and Mallika Sherawat. I found this film to be a bit too messy… you have to watch to understand what i mean…But it is in a way a bit fantasy like a lot like the other movie

The Promise (Simplified Chinese: 无极; Traditional Chinese: 無極; pinyin: Wújí; literally “Limitless”) which is suppose to be an epic fantasy movie directed by Chen Kaige and starring  KOREAN actor Jang Dong-gun, Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, rumoured lovers Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse who were always top hongkong entertainment headlines because of their family background, bad behaviour, relationships and so fourth, always in the gossip column and constantly being chased after paparrazi (they recently had a kid).

I truly doubt it was by coincidence that Korean Actors and Actresses were cast in the movies, because the “Korean Wave” was and to a certain extend still hitting Asia fast and furious:)

MMM and last but not least

The Banquet (Chinese: 夜宴; pinyin: Yè Yàn; literally “The Night Banquet”) is a 2006 Chinese wuxia-drama film, directed by Feng Xiaogang and starring Zhang Ziyi. With themes that deals with revenge and fate, the story is loosely adapted from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It is set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, in 10th-century China. It has LOADS of dialogue and you really have to pay close attention to it… slightly draggy at times but pretty great plot!

Chinese-ness

This is totally based on my own opinions…

Be it kungfu, wu xia pian, myths, folklore, religious deities… chinese cinema (china, hongkong) has always been gendered biased…

To begin with ,traditional chinese values, the men are suppose to be the stronger, thinking beings, the protector so to speak and the ones who bring the money home and the MAN OF THE HOUSE…while the women are the supportive ones who stay home, be there to provide for the men in terms of sexual needs, meals, child bearing etc…

Women are depicted as frail, weak, soft, fainting, incapable of greater things or rather never ever equal to men, concerned with their own petty gains, seeking attention, gaining the foothold only in the household, submissive at all times… if they are NOT marriage material THEN, they are EVIL, seductress, temptresses, the cause of all problems…

If you look at the history of China, APPARENTLY…all the Kings who fell from grace, the ruins of empires are attributed to a woman or women folk who stirred up trouble by constantly playing on the King’s emotions and through physical pleasures getting him to give out imperial edicts or change the laws for their own gains… (it is NEVER stated that Kings are stupid and ruled their empire with their male organ) (it is always the bad bad female…) *pls i need to roll my eyes here

Moving on… so far Storyline/plots of chinese-ness movies:

Aesthetics: It HAS to involve elements of nature, from wind, cloud, water, sand, forest, caves, mountains, animals be it to consume or as pets, a lot of flappy garments, long hair, odd shaped scary looking weapons, gleaming swords, the mastering of ‘chi’, horses, donkeys, big vast landscapes, or absolute solidtary, self exile, eye for detail, the choice of cups, seats, the temples, religious statues like the laughing buddha or warrior god…Food and clothing is usually a way of differentiating the classes, the rich usually have pig/duck/chicken meat as dishes while dressed in silk clothing

An example of over the top detail would be the recent : Curse of the Golden Flower

if you manage to look beyond the ridiculous cleavages,the sets are pretty elborate..not surprisingly, Gong Li the Empresses (FEMALE) who fufils her own sexual desire, engaging with incestual relations with her step son…plots the downfall of the Emperor and even implicates her own son in the process…

Names: Chinese names of characters always end up sounding weird when translated to english  eg:”Flying Snow”, “Broken Sword” but it is usually representational of the elements of wood, earth, fire, water or seasons winter autumn spring summer and it has to do with human traits like courageous and weakness etc.

Men: growing up, from boy to manhood, learning the value of hard work, moral upright behaviour, upholding justice, brotherhood and loyalty, protection of family, carrying on the family line, taking on the rich and powerful who dominate and manipulate the politics and law, learning to do the right thing (like choosing to go for battle / duel and leaving their “nu ren”-woman to go into child birth by themselves) coming back and being a proud father (note only a proud father if it is a SON)-why? son’s bear the family name!

Alright, major gender biasness aside, movies do have positive elements of teaching (which i think some chinese guys need to RE-learn) and take out of traditional films…

-How to be a gentlemen (not being touchy-feely) without being a total male chauvinistic pig
-Women are not meant to be treated like thrash, they are meant to be taken care of, listened to (they are wise)!
-Its not all about me myself and i, there is a greater meaning to life, count your blessings and try to make a difference, even if it is just for one friend…
-Importance of family ties, “ying shui si yuan”-going back to the source and repaying the ones who have been kind to you

13 REGIMENTS

http://www.kungfucinema.com/news/2007/100701.html

Tsui Hark planning HK’s ‘biggest action film’

News | Upcoming | by Mark Pollard | 2007.10.07

SEVEN SWORDS may have not been the big comeback that director Tsui Hark had hoped for but he’s not giving up the fight yet. Chinese news media reports that he is planning an ambitious martial arts action movie with Donnie Yen and Simon Yam as possible candidates to lead an ensemble cast.

Tentatively called 13 REGIMENTS, Tsui’s latest project is being impressively billed as the biggest action film in the history of the Hong Kong film industry. The film will feature a variety of martial arts styles including kung fu, kendo, judo, freeform sparring, and wrestling.

The story will center around 13 individuals, each with unique abilities, who travel around the world recovering scattered Chinese relics and returning them to a national museum in China.

Yam, a non-martial artist, is expected to play the brains of the team while Yen is the fighting lead. Possible co-stars include Nicholas Tse (as a sniper), Gordon Lam (ELECTION 2), Michael Miu (JIANG HU), Alex Fong, Zhang Jie, Wei Chen, and Sun Hong-lei (as the lead villain).

Because audiences are reportedly tired of seeing the same few Hong Kong actors onscreen all the time, Tsui is planning to introduce new talents from mainland China.

Production on 13 REGIMENTS is scheduled to begin at the end of the year.

Source: Wu-Jing.org

HK-Tsui Hark-Wong Fei Hung

Extracts from reader
Knocking off Nationalism in HongKong Cinema: Woman and the Chinese “Thing” in Tsui Hark’s Flims by Kwai Cheung Lo

“For many years, the West has regarded Hong Kong as a counterfeit captial…critics often claim that they are stunned by the quality and sheer variety of knockoffs.”

Now i do not know if it is just me, being chinese (asian) but it is not just Hong Kong that has been a target of criticism but if you look really closely (only in the recent years did i notice this myself)…

From music, to art, to drama serials to movies, even novels, countries (america, japan, korea, hongkong, taiwan, thailand, singapore…etc) are i would not say copying each other but influencing each other. I mean America HollyWood, they sure have  done some pretty cheesy rip offs too just that they call it parody but REALLY?! I think its more of the influence of travel, sight seeing, globalization (next entry) And this issue about authentic “Chineseness” (more in the next entry too …tradition, morality etc)

Now lets talk about Tsui Hark

“In comparison to John Woo and Jackie Chan, Tsui is not very successful in the West” “Tsui shares with all his new wave colleagues a concern for China” (refer to previous entry on History Of HonG KonG) Personally i think the reason is that he did not “sell out”, he remains pretty much true to the esscence of Chinese Cinema, maybe in a way, if you are not Chinese, certain parts are harder to grasp…Like during the screening of Seven Swords people were laughing at some pretty well not so funny parts… i guess its intepretation and connection…

This website, is worth checking out: http://www.lovehkfilm.com
and they have some decent links: http://www.lovehkfilm.com/links.htm
two of the better links:
http://www.kungfucinema.com/
http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/index.shtml

“What Tsui says about Hong Kong film makers is to a large extent also true of his own style, of producing movies. Seeking ideas and techonologies from Hollywood, he mixes them with Chinese folklore, myth, manga (japanese comic books)  and even science fiction to generate strange hybrids of sociopolitical satire, cross dressing, gender bending and chaotic dazzle.”

Looking at Once Upon a Time in China I and II, Wong Fei Hung

“Tsui’s Wong Fei Hung is more inclined to embrace Hong Kong values, as proven when he strongly denounces the fundamentalist nationalism of the White Lotus cult and welcomes multi national and multicultural integration such as the combination of Western medicine and Chinese acupuncture to treat the injured in the besieged British consulate”

Whilst also perhaps to him “There seems to be nothing to connect people to one another in such a society, this may be why the majority of characters in his film aimlessly follow the drift of the vrowd or the mob. Society is no longer a totality for its people, collective responsibility or the sense of organic absorption into a unit is impossible”

Considering how HongKong was once under the British colonial rule, then had their independence and then went “back” to China in 1997, it is a complex small little nation/country and identity is really hard to pin down, i mean yes essential CHINESE but the influences are hard to ignore and i guess like written : “Without a doubt, Tsu’s cinematic represetation of nationalism springs form a masculinised memory and hope” and a greater cry for humanity, people are so disconnected from one another and selfish that everything they do seems to be for their own self gain, and gone are the good old days of “the greater good”!