Continuing with their series of Chinese cinema releases in Australia, China Lion are bringing us Peter Chan Ho-sun’s new film Wu Xia this week. It’s nice to see they’ve resisted the urge to re-title it — it’s apparently going to be titled Dragon for its release in the USA.
Fans of Chinese cinema will be familiar with the name: wuxia describes a whole genre of film and literature, in which heroic swordsmen (and women) compete for mastery of the martial arts world. (Spike’s article on the topic, one of the earliest pieces on the current incarnation of the HC site, is a good intro if you’re interested!)
Back to the film itself. Directed by HK heavy hitter Peter Chan (Comrades: Almost a Love Story, Perhaps Love), Wu Xia sounds like it hits many of the targets you’d expect: a period action film centred around a simple paper-maker with a buried past, an unusual detective with a bee in his bonnet and a marauding band of assassins. The cast looks impressive, too: Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro star as the paper-maker and detective respectively, with the supporting cast filled out by Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) and action cinema veterans Kara Hui and Jimmy Wang Yu.
Takeshi Kaneshiro in Wu Xia
The film opens on July 7 at the following cinemas:
- Sydney: Event George St, Event Macquarie Megaplex, Greater Union Hurstville, Greater Union Burwood.
- Melbourne: Village at Crown, Village Doncaster, Village Century City.
- Brisbane: BCC Garden City Mt Gravatt.
There’s more info up at China Lion’s page for Wu Xia.
(Update: Eugene’s review of the film is now online — check it out here!)