Hey folks, Harry here and excited as hell! I love it when Tsui Hark knocks a personal film out of the block. For one, I consider him a "local" filmmaker here in Austin - since he did learn his craft at the University of Texas in Austin - sharing many film production classes with my father. Many praise him for his producer work - but me... I stand in awe of the work he's directed. Sure - he hasn't always been 100% - but watch TIME & TIDE and try not to get excited. Or - if you've ever been blessed enough to see his THE BLADE on a big screen - it's literally a masterpiece and a stunning work of cinema. I've been fortunate enough to see it twice that way. Once, when Tsui presented it at the University of Texas... and a second time when Tarantino presented it as part of one of his festivals here in Austin - where he heaped a case and a six pack of praise upon it. Then there's the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series and THE SWORDSMAN - I can't even begin to count the number of times I've watched those films. The sumptious design and cinematography that he applies to his films make them sizzle and pop and feel like the most lucid waking dreams. The following review came to me from Paris - the folks running: DVDrama.com where you can read the original French review. They translated the review for all of us. The film reviewer saw the film at the Hong Kong premiere - and talked briefly with some of Hark's family members who, unfortunately, told him there would be no 4 hour version of the film as previously reported. That Tsui loves this version - and doesn't want confusion. This is his film. And frankly... I can't wait. The west will see this film at its Venice premiere here shortly.
Since the beginning of the eighties, Tsui Hark has printed the Hong Kong cinema, in particular with the saga of Chinese Ghost Stories, of A Better Tomorrow, and, of course, Once upon a time in China. He produced and directed plethora of remarkable classics (Peking Opera Blues, Green Snake, The Lovers). But since his last masterpiece, The Blade in 1995, Tsui Hark was looking for a second blow. After some forgettable movies (with Van Damme), two following well screwed (Legend of Zu and Black Mask 2), and a brilliant success but not perfect (Time and Tide), Tsui Hark comes back at the front of international scene with his most ambitious project. A traditional sword film, but made for world audiences. Hoped with difficult to hide impatience, Seven Swords is born from two desires : take back the reins of an industry he has always ruled, and, maybe even more important, give an homage with dignity to his fetish director : Akira Kurosawa.
The result is with the height of all these waitings.
The story : at the seventeenth century, Mandchous created the Ching Dynasty, and prohibit the use of martial arts. At the borders of China, a group of mercenaries are in charge to eliminate the rebels. Among those bloodthirsty generals, Fire-Wind rule a barbarious troop, who in the north of China kill men, women, old men, and kids to sell back their heads and grow richer every day. Fu, an old rebel, played by Shaw Brothers studio veteran Lau Kar-leung (director of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin trilogy), ran away from the army to protect the peasants. He try to warn a village of an imminent attack by the army of Fire-Wind. With two villagers (among them, Charlie Young, egery of Tsui Hark's The Lovers), Fu climb the Mount Heaven looking for hiding warriors. Five of those men agree to help them. The great master give each of them a specific sword, according to the abilities. The seven swordsmen go down to the village to fight the mercenaries...
On a story that could look just as a remake of the Seven Samourais, or the Sturges Western The magnificent Seven, Tsui Hark bring an epic film, rich and personal. We find here his favourites themes : courage and cowardice, blindness, cruelty and weakness of men confronted to events or dilemmas that exceed themselves. Adapting the novel of Liang Yu Sheng, one of the masters of wu xia (sword novels), who wrote also The Bride With White Hair, Tsui Hark choose to target the masterpiece, without any scruples. Obviously upset by the double provocation of Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of the Flying Daggers), coming to hunt on his field without being invited, Tsui Hark bring his most beautiful weapons : a knowledge of narration, a visual inspiration that we no longer thought he still had.
Among the biggest success of this movie, we'll never forget a group of wonderful bad guys, guided by their libido as much as their thirst for money. The actors have never been so good. The usually not very charismatic Leon Lai impose himself as a charismatic leader without effort, and Donnie Yen give for the first time in his career all the power of his amazing physical presence. As a korean warrior, he is one of the best attraction of Seven Swords. His love story with a slave will be remembered for a long time...
But if Seven Swords is a captivating movie, it's first a amazing show. Filmed in huge and wonderful sets, in the mountain of Continental China, or in full village built on the side of hills, Seven Swords daze by its esthetic power. The directing, maybe a little too classic at the beginning, install itself little by little as the movie go on, and deploy all its magnificence in its last third. We really feel that the movie maker take back his confidence in his tools and capacities. We feel also the width of the bet. Because for a lot of fans, this was the movie of the last chance.
The challenge is well taken, and we will regret all the more the shortness of the movie, that despite its two hours and thirty minutes, feel as fast as a trailer. All goes very fast and the characters, as usual wit Tsui, are only developed in the action. It's a little shame they almost stay as shadows, the more so as their are outlined with genius. We can also regret some awkwardness in the narration, who bring a little too late in the movie some dramatic stakes, like the motivations of Leon Lai's character, or some intense sentimental intrigues that link some characters. When we know that Tsui Hark had in mind a four hour cut (that, despite the rumours, won't be on the DVD, it was confirmed a few days ago in Hong Kong !!!!), we can only regret that he didn't went until the end of what he had in mind with his director's cut, a true epic worthy of Akira Kurosawa.
Another regret : the music composed by japanese Kenki Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Innocence , Avalon) is a true disaster, not fitting at all here, handicapping the movie in particular in action or emotion sequences. The synthetic composition give absolutely no dimension to the picture, being satisfied in just awkwardly support it, while the picture is already emotionally clear. It gives more reason to cry on the disappearance last year of the great James Wong, faithful composer of Tsui Hark, and true genius.
But all those small regrets to succeed to decrease the success of Seven Swords, that allow to Tsui Hark to win all his bets with this movie. He easily exceed the charm of The House of the Flying Daggers with so much ease... He finds back his brutal and cruel sensuality from The Blade, like he had directed his masterpiece last year. We might want to watch Seven Swords a few times before understanding all its subtleties, before we can fully enjoy its masterly action scenes (the final fight is absolutely unbelievable, remembering the best from the Shaw Brothers).
Seven Swords is the movie event of the year, the long awaited come back of Tsui Hark as the ultimate leader of the Hong Kong movies, the official entry of this industry into a more grown up level, and a reason to wait with more excitation than ever what will follow it.
Rémi Berner
