Wu Xia is director Peter Chan’s masterpiece. The film balances classical martial arts film aesthetics with the suspense of modern detective films, marries Chan’s specialty-strong plotting, nuanced characters-with a refreshing action style and delivers enjoyment rarely experienced by audiences.

Liu, who lives a quiet village life with his wife and young son, gets into a fight at a local shop. He kills the criminals in an unguarded moment, leading the detectives investigating the incident to suspect that Liu is a martial arts master. Wu Xia conserves the powerful, masculine action that characterizes classical martial arts film and fuses it with a new style that mobilizes modern technology. This is the main virtue of Wu Xia and it is showcased in the showdown between today’s best working action star, Donnie Yen, and martial arts hero Wang Yi. The production and entertainment values of the film are further elevated by elaborate performances from Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tang Wei, tuned to the strikingly dramatic flow and splendid mise en scene of Chan’s film work. (CHO Young-jung) Text from The 16th Busan International Film Festival Book,Page:58

Find out more on this event. Visit : cheadsasia.tistory.com/7

Credits

Text and Photographed by SoHyung Kim @C-Heads Asia

All Artworks ⓒSohyung Kim