A Touch of Zen

In A Touch of Zen a woman fleeing from the secret police is aided by a Buddhist priest. The long shots of elegant fights and the sumptuous nature shots prepare the viewer for a memorable and metaphysical apotheosis that raised the film to the status of an absolute martial arts classic. The most legendary scene is that of a sword duel in a bamboo forest, which inspired Ang Lee to produce a similar scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hu”s stunning visual feat was made for the mainstream market, but rejects the strident commercialism of Hong Kong”s film industry. The extraordinary editing and photography turned A Touch of Zen into a milestone of the martial arts genre. It was the first title in the wuxia genre to receive international recognition. Filmmakers like Ann Hui, John Woo and Tsui Hark are great admirers of Hu”s work and would later expand the stylistic innovations introduced by Hu. A Touch of Zen won the Technical Grand Prize Award at the Film Festival of Cannes in 1975.

Introduction (in English) by Doris Yeung (Cinemasia) on June 4th.