Hey folks, Harry here with another wonderful report on what truly sounds like at least one work of impossible genius... INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN - Mark's review below is quite graphic and spoiler-ridden, so beware... he even gives away the ending, but this is now the title I'm searching hardest for. Here ya go...
Harry,
Here's the promised second report on the martial arts films of SIFF 2003. Two out of four ain't bad and at least I caught the better half, or should I say the bloodier half. Expect more next week.
Cheers,
Mark Pollard
SIFF 2003 Martial Arts Film Report - Part 2
Revenge of the opera player & prostitute
by Mark Pollard
06.01.2003 - Introduction
Week two at the Seattle International Film Festival offered up four martial arts related films including Korean blockbuster Musa: The Warrior (2001) early in the week, Corey Yuen Kwai's So Close (2002), and a double bill of ultra bloody Shaw Brothers classics on Sunday that included Chang Cheh's Vengeance! (1970) and Chor Yuen's Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972). Sadly, the first two screenings I was unable to attend. But having seen Musa on an import DVD, I can say it would have been a spectacular film to see in theaters for it is filled with epic battles amid beautiful desert and forested landscapes, all caught by Oscar caliber cinematography.
As a big fan of Corey Yuen Kwai's films, such as the old school kung fu classic Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982) starring Conan Lee, Righting Wrongs (1986) with Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock, and most recently The Transporter (2002) with Jason Statham, I'm sure the kinetic action in So Close would have been worth seeing on the big screen, even if the story of three kung fu fighting babes isn't. Now instead of lamenting lost opportunities, I'd like to focus on what I did catch and must surely be one of the highlights of this year's festival that drew wild applause from a shocked and bemused audience. But first, let's start where all things do, at the beginning...
Vengeance!
Back to the Harvard Exit theater did I go for another double dose of Shaw Brothers goodness on Sunday. First up was Vengeance!, a 1970 classic that has yet to be released as an import DVD. It was directed and co-written by Chang Cheh and included most of his dream team of filmmaking cohorts, namely Ni Kuang on script, Tong Gaai on martial arts choreography, and a host of talented stuntmen including Yuen Wo Ping (Iron Monkey, The Matrix Reloaded) filling out the cast of nameless fighters who die by the dozens. As with last week's screening of Golden Swallow, I had fun counting the number of times I could spot Yuen Wo Ping in different roles. For the record, his character appearances in Vengeance! stand at three after being killed off twice.
Vengeance!, the title says it all about this film. The very talented Ti Lung plays a Chinese opera performer in a nameless Chinese town during the 1930's who is killed by an unscrupulous theater manager (Guk Fung) who covets his wife.
Now, there is murder and there is freaking, blood-spewing and gut-wrenching death by multiple stabbings in the back, gut, chest, and eyes as you writhe in slow motion while an army of thugs close in. This is Chang Cheh in all his glory and its a beautiful thing. No, I'm not a sadist, but Chang Cheh and some of his fellow Shaw Brothers brethren have a unique way of showcasing the most gruesome deaths imaginable, and without sending those with weak stomachs scrounging for the nearest popcorn bag to hurl in. The key element is the Shaw blood. This stuff is bright, tomato red and is used liberally by the bucket full. This is comic gore along the lines of Peter Jackson's zombie flick Dead Alive (1992), so over the top that you never regret laughing as Ti Lung drops dead with gobs of gooey red stuff oozing out of his eyeless sockets.
Just as the viewer might wonder where the plot will turn next, a well-dressed David Chiang walks into the film as Ti Lung's younger brother. These two actors were collectively the most popular actors at Shaw Brothers. They starred together in a whole string of violent martial arts films, some of which like The Anonymous Heroes (1971) and Duel of Fists (1971) are equally outstanding examples of Chang Cheh's love of heroic bloodshed and male bonding. Chiang is of a slight, but lean build and somewhat resembles the spindly lead character Spike Spiegel in the hit anime series Cowboy Bebop, if that's possible. He's actually a bit of a 'Nancy Boy' who is constantly brushing off invisible dust from his tailored kung fu suits after a leap or straightening his hair after a vicious brawl. After learning of his brother's death, he doesn't waste any time in seeking Vengeance! To give you an idea, he walks straight in to the home of Ti Lung's widow who is already shagging one of the nameless thugs who assisted in killing her husband. Chiang just starts stabbing the guy and asks questions later. He waits around until another thug comes along and throws a knife in her for mouthing off. Always an opportunist, Chiang pulls out the knife and throws it into the back of the fleeing thug. He was just returning the knife, right? From that point on, people start dying left and right as Chiang makes his way around town killing all of the people who assisted in his brother's murder. But Chang Cheh - as per usual - saves the best for last. Dressed in a white suit similar to the one Bruce Lee wore two years later in Fist of Fury (AKA The Chinese Connection), Chiang gets into the mother of all knife fights that leaves his suit covered in that lovely Shaw blood.
Special mention goes to the great Lo Lieh of The Five Fingers of Death fame (he died last year - RIP), who plays a hip assassin in a black suit and white tie out to kill Chiang.
Aside from the obviously gratuitous violence, this film also has merit as artful cinema - no, really! Sure, the acting and plot is laughable, but Chang does a very nice trick with the Chinese opera scenes. Early on, Ti Lung dies a staged death as part of his theater performance. Later, these scenes are inserted with scenes of his real death which shares an eerie similarity. Then as he dies, the scene changes to an almost surreal shot of the curtain closing on Ti as he lays on the stage motionless. This is great stuff from Chang Cheh, but the Hong Kong zaniness only gets better, much better.
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan
Does this sound like a softcore porn movie to you too? In a way it starts out that way, but little did most of the audience (including myself) know just how off the hook this film goes. I mean, it gets out of control in the way that most B-moviemakers will spend their whole careers dreaming about and never coming close to reaching. When I mean out of control I mean lesbian sex, domination, old man perversions, topless nudity, ripped out hearts, arms thrust through chests and cut off, blood spurting everywhere, etc, etc, etc... What is most amazing about this film is how ridiculously funny it is while all of this nonsense is going on. In many ways, it makes Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula (1974) look like a lazy church picnic in comparison. It even looks like Paul Morrissey might have jacked elements from this film.
But the real cinema hack is Hong Kong schlock purveyor Wong Jing who produced a film called Naked Killer in 1992 that is basically a modern remake of Intimate Confessions. Wong's film about a woman trained as an assassin (Chingmy Yau) who kills men after suffering abuse herself is an overrated pile of cinema poo with lesbian killers and a near impotent male lead (Simon Yam). But for some reason, Western viewers have made this film a cult favorite for its 'edgy,' exploitive elements and more understandably for the sex appeal of Chingmy Yau. Now tell Wong Jing and all of his fans that they can take a seat! Intimate Confessions is an original work of humorously exploitive genius, on a scale incalculable. And I bet I have 400 fellow viewers willing to back me up (or so it seemed at the time).
The film takes place in the mostly mythical world of the Chinese knight errant where swordplay is all the rage and the best fighters can perform superhuman feats as seen more eloquently in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). The big difference from so many other swordplay films that Shaw Brothers produced, is the focus on a brothel where the conflict that usually takes place between clans of swordsmen seeking dominance in the 'martial world' takes on a decidedly more personal and feminine approach. Chor Yuen is the second most famous director of swordplay epics and unlike Chang Cheh, he is much more willing to feature women as equals to men and in incorporating sexuality amid the violence.
The film begins with the murder of a wealthy citizen being investigated. We then flash back to possibly a few months or even a year prior as a smuggled caravan of kidnapped women arrives at a brothel to be forced into prostitution. One of them, played by Lily Ho Li-li (insert joke here) is feistier than the rest and draws the attention of the brothel's refined, yet sadistic and lesbian madam, played by Booi Dai in her screen debut. Lily endures all manner of hellish treatment from being sexually assaulted by the madam right after being whipped for her rebelliousness, to being raped in turn by several wealthy and regular patrons, one of whom looks to be in his late '60's or early '70's. This all sounds horrific or outright offensive so far, and it is, but for the sleazy music and hilarious editing. When the camera freeze frames on a giggly old man about to pounce on Lily who has been drugged, most everyone in the theater bust out laughing. This and so many other scenes are handled with such a heavy hand that it cannot be taken seriously. Another funny scene occurs later when several girls get busy with the old man. The camera pans to a series of lurid murals and proceeds to zoom in and out repeatedly. Oh, but it gets better.
Lily doesn't remain the victim for long. After a failed attempt to escape where the madam rips out the heart of a fighter, Lily finally submits and begins to build the confidence of the madam who is thoroughly infatuated with her. Lily even learns kung fu from the madam. We come back to the present after Lily kills one of the men who raped her, the same one we see at the beginning of the film. Yuen Hua, one of Shaw Brothers' top swordplay heroes takes the supporting role of an officer investigating the murder. The murder is quickly traced back to Lily, but without proof Yuen Hua is forced to stand by as she strikes again. She eventually gets back at each of the men who raped her and then goes after the smugglers and the madam herself.
I am so glad that this Shaw Brothers film had the biggest showing yet, at least 400 people. I think a lot of viewers may have been expecting some kind of artsy period drama, although to their credit only a couple left before it ended. Pardon the usage, but 'shock and awe' was clearly in effect. I knew what Shaw Brothers films were capable of, but I didn't know they would throw it all in one film! The bawdy sexuality in the first two-thirds of the film is replaced by mind-numbingly hilarious violence. The madam's special ability (which they gave an esoteric name to that I have since forgotten) is thrusting her hands into people, often. Blinded by lust, she defends Lily against her own people as they try to kill both of them. But a scene where the camera pulls away to show the madam's arm shoved completely through a fighter, with her hand poking out the back drew riotous clapping from viewers, especially as they saw the arm severed by the now, impaled fighter. Holy bloodletting! The madam then gets sliced in the back by Lily, but keeps on going, minus an arm. Only when she loses, yes, her other arm and get sliced in the chest does she finally fall. But wait, there's more! The madam then asks for one last kiss, minus two arms and bleeding profusely mind you, and ends up poisoning Lily with a capsule she was chewing on. So, Lily writhes around for a while in slow motion before the film finally ends, and the crowd goes wild!
As an avid martial arts film viewer, I've seen hundreds of films in my day, many of them pretty wild, such as Story of Ricky. But, nothing yet compares to Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan. And to watch this film on the big screen with 400 plus people is unforgettable. If it ever comes to your town, don't miss it!
Just when I thought I had seen everything, Shaw Brothers proved me wrong again. These films are just beginning to appear on the horizon of a few, but growing mass of Western viewers who, like myself are being floored by their level of unbridled creativity and simple brilliance. If only the powers that be (are you listening Disney?) would do these films justice and get them publicized and widely released in the West. I guarantee you that people would be taking 'Five Venoms' lunch boxes to work or school and the phrase, "you must be tired of living" would become an advertising slogan for SUV's or Coors beer. What a wonderful world that would be.
Mark
