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Though this three-hour epic may be held up as an essential milestone of kung fu and wuxia movies, its relationship to them is analogous to that of Tarkovsky’s Stalker to post-apocalyptic action flicks. King Hu created a phenomenal, unique work that towers over the whole world of martial arts and itinerant swordsman movies. Many other films in these genres, though made after A Touch of Zen, attempt to incorporate the philosophy of martial arts alongside physical attractions, but they mostly do so in an utterly literal way. Conversely, Hu used the then popular genre to create a captivatingly lyrical film that employs Taoist motifs to make the audience feel, together with the characters, a touch of Buddhist awakening and even Zen enlightenment. The radical nature of Hu’s vision becomes apparent in a comparison with the frequently recalled “literary source work”, which is a classic short story with supernatural and spiritual elements. Hu completely turns these on their head, or rather he unmasks their Taoist basis with rationality and a broader Buddhist perspective. His film remains out of line with the narrative standards of the time and even of today. The original Matrix trilogy has the closest thing to the structure that he uses here. As in the Matrix films, Hu presents viewers with a narrative that takes us through various ways of viewing the world (though in comparison with the Matrix films, he does so less literally and on a two-fifths scale). From the Taoist path of harmony of personal existence with the immediate surroundings, nature and the supposed energies and spirits around us, we set out through a vision of the wider world, a broader context and our own role in its web of relationships to the final enlightenment, which, however, is peculiarly not afforded to the protagonists, who are only witnesses to it during their own awakening. Accordingly, the narrative of A Touch of Zen also gradually changes the central character or focuses on various interrelated characters (unlike the Matrix films with their western-style individualistic ideal of “the chosen one”). The original title establishes a valiant lady as the central character, whereas the narrative places in the foreground an ordinary scholar who is not a hero, but rather serves as a guide for viewers. To a significant extent, his perspective conditions the film’s captivatingly impressive style and literally justifies the stylisation of many sequences, particularly the fight scenes. That stylisation is derived from the symbolist and dance tradition of the Beijing opera and differs from the then standard of the choreography and aesthetics of Hong Kong martial arts films, which were taken from the routines of particular martial arts schools and the bloody literalism of popular samurai movies. Western viewers may find A Touch of Zen enigmatic, which is largely due to its essential connection to Chinese culture and Hu’s work with its traditions. Despite this cultural barrier, however, A Touch of Zen is able to captivate properly open minds at least with its formalistic brilliance, particularly in the areas of editing and its work with colour and camera compositions. (22.07.2023) (mniej) (więcej)