A Touch of Zen (1971)

Film: A Touch of Zen

Director: King Hu

Country: Hong Kong / Taiwan / China

Released: November 1971

Runtime: 180 minutes

Genre: Martial Arts Movie

Studio: Union Film

Influenced: Ang Lee, Tsui Hark, Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang, The Wachowskis

King Hu elevated Chinese film into a new realm of artistry, in particular martial arts movies (wuxia), rescuing them from their reputation in the country as a lowbrow form of entertainment. Hu's unique cinematic style was first evident in Come Drink with Me (1966), which featured a strong female protagonist (a departure from the norm) and beautifully choreographed fight scenes integrating elements of traditional Chinese arts, like music and dance. His next feature film, Dragon Inn (1967), was hugely successful and influential, combining political intrigue with extraordinary fight scenes, but Hu's masterpiece is A Touch of Zen, which won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival thanks to its innovative editing and complex, character-driven narrative.

Based on the classic Chinese story, Xianü (The Chivalrous Woman) by Pu Songling, A Touch of Zen's plot unfolds in a rural, isolated setting where a humble artist and scholar named Gu (Shih Jun) lives with his mother. Their peaceful routine is disrupted by the mysterious arrival of a beautiful fugitive, Yang (Hsu Feng), who is hiding from the corrupt Eastern Depot guards of the Imperial court. Yang belongs to a family that was wrongfully accused of treason, and she is the sole surviving member on the run. As the story progresses, the plot deepens to reveal Yang's association with a group of Zen Buddhist monks, who are intent on showing their resistance to the corrupt Imperial regime. In a climactic battle, Yang and the monks fight against the Eastern Depot guards, and if you can name me a cooler martial arts hero than Abbot Hui (Roy Chiao) then I'm all ears.

A Touch of Zen's exploration of Buddhist philosophy was rare in the martial arts world, and Hu blended these elements with traditional narrative themes in Chinese cinema like chivalry, filial piety, ghosts and love (the gorgeous night scene where the two lovers Yang and Gu come together for the first time, with the moon reflected in the water and Yang's lovely singing, is reminiscent of old Chinese classics like Spring In A Small Town). The movie was shot on location in Taiwan and Hu very carefully recreated the world of the Ming Dynasty, using rural locations and epic landscapes, as well as sets designed to look like ancient Chinese villages and forts. This helped to create an atmospheric film with an aesthetic rooted in traditional Chinese painting, and Hu's innovative use of shadows and editing, particularly during the film's fight scenes, resulted in a fluid and dynamic visual style that was groundbreaking at the time.

There are so many wow moments watching the film, notably the scene near the end where Abbot Hui and his four Buddhist monk protégés jump down to fight the commander of the Eastern Depot, a sequence that features impressive slo-mo jumping interspersed with gorgeous nature shots and incredible forest lighting. Throughout the film, these gravity-defying action sequences are a real highlight and, unlike Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou, Hu didn’t have CGI to call on – instead he used various techniques, such as invisible wires, trampolines, reverse footage and innovative angles (to be honest, sometimes it looks like characters are doing little more than jumping over the camera). Hu's imaginative use of these techniques helped to revolutionise the wuxia genre and had a profound influence on later films, both in Asia and the west.