A Touch of Zen
Encyclopedia
A Touch of Zen is a 1971 Taiwanese wuxia
film directed by King Hu
. The film won significant critical acclaim and became the first Chinese language action film ever to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival
, claiming the Technical Grand Prize award.
Although filming began in 1969, A Touch of Zen was not completed until 1971. The original Taiwanese release was in two parts in 1970 and 1971 (filming was still ongoing when the first part was released) with the bamboo forest sequence that concludes Part 1 reprised at the beginning of Part 2; this version has a combined run time of 200 minutes. In November 1971 both parts of the film were combined into one for the Hong Kong market with a run time of 187 minutes. Its running time of over three hours makes it an unusually epic entry in the wuxia genre.
One of the unique aspects of the film is that Ku is a non-combatant all the way through the film and only becomes involved when he sleeps with Yang. Upon doing so, he is no longer the naïve bumbling innocent, but instead becomes confident and assertive, and when Yang's plight is revealed, he insists on being part of it – and even comes up with a fiendish "Ghost Trap" for the East Chamber guards. This is plan to use a supposedly haunted site to play tricks on the guards to make believe they are prey to the undead. In the aftermath, Ku walks through the carnage laughing at the ingenuity of his plan until the true cost of human life dawns on him.
After the battle, Ku is unable to find Yang, whom he is told has left him and does not want him to follow her. He tracks her down to the monastery of the saintly and powerful Abbot Hui Yuan, where she has given birth to a child by Ku and become a nun. She tells Ku that their destiny together has ended and gives Ku their child. Later, when Ku and the child are tracked down by the Hsu Hsien-Chen, the evil commander of Eunuch Wei's army, Yang and Abbot Hui come to Ku's rescue. In the ensuing battles, Hsu is killed and Yang and Abbot Hui are badly injured (the latter bleeding golden blood). The film famously ends with the injured Yang staggering towards a silhouetted figure, presumably Abbot Hui, seen meditating with the setting sun forming a halo around his head, an image suggesting the Buddha and enlightenment.
The film was awarded the Technical Grand Prize and nominated for the Palme d'Or
at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival
.
Featuring stunning settings and backdrops, A Touch of Zen has been influential upon many films, particularly Ang Lee
's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
and Zhang Yimou
's House of Flying Daggers
.
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
film directed by King Hu
King Hu
King Hu was a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose Wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films Come Drink with Me , Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films in the late 1960s...
. The film won significant critical acclaim and became the first Chinese language action film ever to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, claiming the Technical Grand Prize award.
Although filming began in 1969, A Touch of Zen was not completed until 1971. The original Taiwanese release was in two parts in 1970 and 1971 (filming was still ongoing when the first part was released) with the bamboo forest sequence that concludes Part 1 reprised at the beginning of Part 2; this version has a combined run time of 200 minutes. In November 1971 both parts of the film were combined into one for the Hong Kong market with a run time of 187 minutes. Its running time of over three hours makes it an unusually epic entry in the wuxia genre.
Plot
The story is largely seen through the eyes of Ku, who is a well-meaning but unambitious scholar and painter, with a tendency towards being clumsy and ineffectual. A stranger arrives in town wanting his portrait painted by Ku, but his real objective is to bring a female fugitive back to the city for execution on behalf of the East Chamber guards. The fugitive, Yang, is befriended by Ku and together they plot against the corrupt Eunuch Wei who wants to eradicate all trace of her family after her father attempts to warn the Emperor of the eunuch's corruption.One of the unique aspects of the film is that Ku is a non-combatant all the way through the film and only becomes involved when he sleeps with Yang. Upon doing so, he is no longer the naïve bumbling innocent, but instead becomes confident and assertive, and when Yang's plight is revealed, he insists on being part of it – and even comes up with a fiendish "Ghost Trap" for the East Chamber guards. This is plan to use a supposedly haunted site to play tricks on the guards to make believe they are prey to the undead. In the aftermath, Ku walks through the carnage laughing at the ingenuity of his plan until the true cost of human life dawns on him.
After the battle, Ku is unable to find Yang, whom he is told has left him and does not want him to follow her. He tracks her down to the monastery of the saintly and powerful Abbot Hui Yuan, where she has given birth to a child by Ku and become a nun. She tells Ku that their destiny together has ended and gives Ku their child. Later, when Ku and the child are tracked down by the Hsu Hsien-Chen, the evil commander of Eunuch Wei's army, Yang and Abbot Hui come to Ku's rescue. In the ensuing battles, Hsu is killed and Yang and Abbot Hui are badly injured (the latter bleeding golden blood). The film famously ends with the injured Yang staggering towards a silhouetted figure, presumably Abbot Hui, seen meditating with the setting sun forming a halo around his head, an image suggesting the Buddha and enlightenment.
Cast
- Hsu Feng as Yang Hui-ching
- Shih Jun as Ku Shen-chai
- Pai Ying as General Shih
- Roy ChiaoRoy ChiaoRoy Chiao was a Chinese actor most famous for playing the minor villain Lao Che in the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Other English speaking film appearances of his included roles in the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Bloodsport, the 1973 Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon and the...
as Abbot Hui Yuan - Tien Peng as Ouyang Nin
- Cho Kin as Magistrate
- Miao Tian as one of Mun Ta's advisors
- Cheung Bing-yuk as Shen-chai's mother
- Sit Hon as General Lu Ting-yen
- Wang Shui as Mun Ta
- Han Ying-chieh as Chief Commander Hsu Hsien-chen
- Man Chung-san as Lu Chiang
- Liu Chu as one of the Magistrate's men
- Go Ming as one of the Magistrate's men
- Liu Chik as Mun Ta's guard
- Goo Liu-sek as Yang Lin
- Cheung Wan-man as Tao Lung
- Tse Chung-mau as royal messenger
- To Wai-wo as Mun Ta's guard
- Chen Shih-wei as Mun Ta's guard
- Hao Li-jen as woodcutter
- Sammo HungSammo HungSammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
as Commander Hsu's bodyguard - Ng Ming-choi as East Chamber guard
- Billy Chan as East Chamber guard
- Lam Ching-ying as East Chamber guard
- Shan Mao as guard
- Lung Fei as guard
- Yeung Sai-gwan as monk
- Kei Ho-chiu as monk
- Poon Yiu-kwan as East Chamber guard
- Cheung Yee-kwai as East Chamber guard
- Lau Yau-bun as East Chamber guard
- Chiu Hing-chun as soldier
- Jimmy Lung as monk
- Moon Chuk-wa
- Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
(uncredited stuntman)
Significance
The film has been hailed for its cinematography, editing, and special effects, as well as its unusually thoughtful approach to the genre, with its strong thematic focus on Buddhism. The film makes strong use of symbolism throughout and is famous for its "abstract," open-ended finale. The motif of spiderwebs is often used to symbolize the tangled and sinister nature of the East Chamber and the evil Eunuch and the manipulative nature of Yang. Elsewhere, the film employs a dark, moody tone which enhances the sense of fantasy. Images of nature, the sun, and the use of lens flares are associated throughout with Buddhism and Abbot Hui's convent. The final battles between Hsu and Hui, which involve a number of mystical events, have been interpreted as a battle between good and evil or as a parable about Buddhist religious virtues, the evils of worldliness, and enlightenment.The film was awarded the Technical Grand Prize and nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival
1975 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Jeanne Moreau, President, actress*André Delvaux, director*Anthony Burgess, writer*Fernando Rey, actor*George Roy Hill, director*Gérard Ducaux-Rupp, producer*Léa Massari, actress*Pierre Mazars, journalist*Pierre Salinger, writer...
.
Featuring stunning settings and backdrops, A Touch of Zen has been influential upon many films, particularly Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
and Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
's House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers is a 2004 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. It differs from other wuxia films in that it is more of a love story than a straight martial arts film....
.
Further reading
- Lorge, Peter. "Sexing Warrior Women." Located in: Ramey, Lynn T. and Tison Pugh (editors). Race, Class, and Gender in "Medieval" Cinema. Macmillan, February 20, 2007. pages 157-163. ISBN 1403974276, 9781403974273.