Guan yun chang - The Lost Bladesman

Guan yun chang - The Lost Bladesman
Hong Kong (2011)
Starring:  Yu Ai Li, Hong Chen, Siu-hou Chin, Donnie Yen

I just got my hands on this movie and the only subtitles I could find were a re-translation from a Vietnamese sub.  The resulting subtitle I used could have had a serious effect on the story as there are a few things that I seem to be missing - the gist of the movie I know I got fairly well.  My recommendation for those of you in the same situation I am in is to try and find a better subtitle file, but the movie is still good.

The Lost Bladesman was a super interesting movie on many levels.     Guan Yu, played by Donnie Yen, is a true Chinese general that helped bring an end to the Han Dynasty and ushered in the beginning of the Three Kingdoms.  It is still common to see small shrines dedicated to Guan Yu in Chinese stores and restaurants around the world.  The movie also depicts the warlord Cao Cao in a way that I had not thought of him.  In this movie he is depicted as a wise manipulative man and not necessarily the feared man who rained death upon everyone in his path.

With all of that said this is one cool movie.  The cinematography is great all the way through.  Most of the fight scenes use the pudao sword requiring large movements that were gracefully executed.  The history and the story part I'm still a little fuzzy on and I might have to do some reading and then watch it again when a different subtitle file is available.   All in all if you are a fan of epic period martial arts flicks involving kings, generals, provincial leaders, and an honorable hero this is certainly one movie you should be happy to get your hands on as well.

Samurai Ayothaya - The Samurai of Ayothaya

Samurai Ayothaya - The Samurai of Ayothaya
Thailand (2010)
Starring:  Seigi Ozeki, Kanokkorn Jaicheun, Sorapong Chatree
Awards:  2011 National Film Association Award (Best Score) - Thailand National Film Association Award

Finally months of patience and perseverance have paid off and I was able to acquire a subtitle file for this movie enabling me to watch it and more to the point: write this review.

The Samurai of Ayothaya is an interesting movie to me.  It loosely follows part of the life of the historic figure Yamada Nagamasa.  In history Yamada became the Govenor of the Nakhori Si Thammarat province.  In the movie Yamada became one of the elite warriors from the Ayothaya province.

Betrayed by his countrymen and left for dead Yamada is saved by an enemy tribe and slowly brought back to health.  He finds tranquility and identity with his saviors and decides to stay after his recovery.

This movie has some really cool fight scenes.  There is this humorous tone to the movie that muay thai is the be all end all of martial arts and is the destroyer of all other forms.  What else should I expect from a Thai movie though.  I don't think the history portrayed in this movie is close to accurate, but I'm okay with that.  The choreography of the martial arts is pretty good in this movie.  The scenes are really cool - including the full moon festival.  The movie served it's purpose of entertainment.  I enjoyed watching it.

Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers

Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers
Hong Kong (2008)
Starring:  Charlene Choi, Chun Wu, Ge Hu

Butterfly Lovers itself as a movie didn't really "wow" me on many levels.  The story however is altogether something else.  This movie is based on a story that is almost 2000 years old and is a traditional folktale in China.  Liang Zhu as the tale is often referred to, in honor of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, is a love story that has truly transcended history to bring us a tale of two lovers who are bound by a love so strong heaven itself cast them to live upon the earth and never truly realize that which they sought after most.  It is a fascinating story and may be older then it's Hindi counterpart Heer Ranjha and certainly older then our western Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  When comparing the similarities of the major characters in these stories the parallels are quite amazing.  It makes me wonder if such stories spread and with a change of characters and local were brought back to life and made famous again in a foreign land, or if the stories have absolutely no connection and from arbitrary chance one story was believed to have happened while something very similar was dreamed up with no influence passing either way.

The main actress and the director in this movie both get slammed in popular reviews citing she is not believable in her role.  There are a few moments where I felt the same way, but there's a few good giggles, a couple decent martial arts scenes, an evil villain fighting to possess a heart that is not destined to be his, and then of course the story that makes butterfly lovers of Butterfly Lovers.  I enjoyed the movie and the history lesson I received while trying to bring you the background on it.  I enjoyed it.  If you're looking for a romantic martial arts flick, I will stand behind this one.

Quote:  Butterflies should be a pair, one left behind will be lonely.  So wait for me.

Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul

Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul
Iran (2005)
Starring: Parviz Shahinkhou, Maryam Hamid, Hossein Panahi
Awards:  2005 Crystal Simorgh - Fajr Film Festival; 2006 Golden Dagger - Muscat Film Festival

Bab'Aziz is an amazing story that begins in the desert with a blind dervish and his grand daughter.  This movie follows their journey as they head towards their destination, a great reunion, with nothing but faith to guide them.  On the journey they meet many other dervishes who are also headed the same direction.  Some are misguided and without faith can not find the way, others are lost and seeking answers, and one is on his way to find the love of his life whose path had split from his own.  As these dervishes come and go, taking their own paths to the reunion, Ishtar's grandfather tells her a story of the prince who gave up his worldly status to contemplate his soul.  Through the movie I wondered if that prince was her grandfather himself, but this was never made clear to me.

There are a few things about this movie that I really liked.  The scenery was gorgeous.  This movie was filmed in both Iran and Tunisia and it incorporates both dues of sand with a satin appearance as well as scorching desert with mountains off in the distance.  For the scenery and the cinematography this movie was worth watching.  It also has a very heavy undertone of Islamic teaching and words wise enough that I believe  many of the lines and stories in this movie might have come from Sufi's.  Bab'Aziz does orient towards Islam, but the wisdom hidden in the movie make it a wonderful movie for almost anyone with an open mind.  There is no action in this movie, there are no amazing special effects, but there is a beautiful journey and an amazing story.

Quote:  He who has faith will never get lost

The Fall

The Fall
USA (2006)
Starring:  Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell
Awards: 2007 Best Film - Sitges Catalonian Int'l. Film Festival; 2007 Crystal Bear Special Mention - Berlin Int'l. Film Festival; 2008 Best Cinematography - Austin Film Critics Association

This movie dubbed a fantasy and adventure begins in a hospital.  In this hospital there are two characters thrust together by chance.  A stunt man with a shattered heart and broken leg and a girl who fell and broke her arm.

Roy befriends Alexandria and begins telling her a story of six heroes who each desire to kill the same man.  As the story carries on Roy cons this young child into acquiring medicine for him for his pain.  As the story unfolds the viewer begins to understand that medicine will not cure Roy's particular situation.

I decided to watch this movie because I wanted to continue a recent run on fantasy movies.  This was far from anything upbeat and was truly sad the way the story unfolds.  For those of you who are looking for a fantasy adventure I would look on - the lack of action throughout and the morbid twists will leaving you wishing you picked another movie.  For those of you interested in fantasy movie with a dark/depressing motive well you can find it on Netflix.