Four films were competing in the Spring Festival slate.
*My Young Auntie*, directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Kara Wai, had already been screening for several days on the Shaw Brothers circuit.
Wai played a young woman who held high generational seniority in her family, a role packed with fight scenes that shot her to stardom. The movie was fairly conventional, with her martial arts sequences serving as its brightest highlight. Intriguingly, she would eventually take home Best Actress for it at the inaugural Hong Kong Film Awards.
Next was *Security Unlimited*, directed by Michael Hui, which had opened on January 30 on the Golden Harvest circuit.
Hui was Hong Kong's reigning box-office king in the post–Bruce Lee era, outranking even Jackie Chan. Having already claimed four annual box-office crowns, his latest outing proved an unstoppable juggernaut, smashing records once again.
Then came *Tai Chi* on February 3, followed by Cinema City's *Beware of Pickpockets* on February 5.
Chen Qi had directed his barbs squarely at *My Young Auntie*, publicly declaring, "An old master shouldn't be obsessed with fighting and killing. Better to let our work do the talking, like making friends through martial arts, and see who the audience prefers!" His remarks had drummed up massive buzz.
The night of February 3.
Outside South China Theatre, Shu Kei spent ten dollars on a ticket for the back stalls downstairs, marvelling at how steeply prices had climbed. Only two years ago, a ticket had cost five dollars. This inflation had significantly boosted overall box-office totals for Hong Kong films.
Entering the cinema, he located his seat, pulled out a notebook, and jotted down observations of the surrounding audience. Men, women, young and old—the turnout was surprisingly solid, with about sixty percent of the seats filled. It seemed *Tai Chi*'s promotional blitz had paid off.
"..."
After penning a few paragraphs, Shu Kei closed his notebook for the moment and waited for the show to begin.
He was a screenwriter, critic, and editor-in-chief of *Film Biweekly*. He and his colleagues at the magazine were currently exploring an idea: Hong Kong cinema was flourishing like never before, yet lacked a dedicated professional award. They wanted to create one—which would soon become the Hong Kong Film Awards, slated for its inaugural run the following year.
Looking left and right, his eyes suddenly halted on two slender figures wearing caps.
"The Yuen Brothers?"
Shu Kei studied them for a moment. They certainly looked like them. He could not help wondering what brought them to a mainland film.
"Damn it, man! You brought me to another leftist movie?"
"Wasn't *Wrong Turn* a total blast last time? You even begged Liu Xuehua for an autograph!"
"But this is a martial arts film! What kind of kung fu flick can leftists make—old folks doing morning calisthenics? I'd rather wait for *The Descent*. Leftists actually know a thing or two about making horror movies now."
The two young men squeezed through the row with loud bickering and sat right in front of Shu Kei. Finding their chatter amusing, he tapped them on the shoulder and smiled. "Hey guys, I'm an editor with a film magazine. What you're saying is pretty fascinating. Could I interview you two after the screening?"
"Whoa, get in a magazine?"
"No problem!"
After waiting a little longer, no more patrons arrived; the house was about sixty-five percent full. As the lights dimmed, the murmurs subsided, and hundreds of eyes turned toward the glowing screen.
The credits rolled first, with Chen Qi's name featured prominently as screenwriter and creative planner.
*Chen Qi? The guy who got into a war of words with Lau Kar-leung recently? He's so young, yet he's the screenwriter? Wait, didn't he write Wrong Turn too? ...Now that's interesting!*
Shu Kei settled into a comfortable position, brimful of curiosity. What would this first imported mainland martial arts film look like?
"Yang Yugan, I'm definitely beating you today!"
"You've said that ten times already. It's getting old!"
"Hmph! I've learned new moves. Just you wait!"
The movie opened not with combat, but with a landscape shot: crisscrossing footpaths running through bucolic fields, chickens and dogs chiming in harmony, farmers tilling the soil, and a group of youngsters playing under a leafy, sprawling tree.
*Beautiful!*
Shu Kei praised it silently. Hong Kong films could never capture such authentic pastoral beauty. *Tai Chi* had dedicated its very first frame to the natural landscape, as if the filmmakers had anticipated what would captivate the audience.
The youths formed a circle around two contenders standing inside.
One was Yang Yugan, played by Li Lianjie. His striking screen presence would be a major factor in his rise to stardom—dressed in a typical late Qing robe, handsome and inherently charismatic.
The opponent opposite him had bronze skin, burly and robust.
As they clashed, Yang Yugan proved clearly superior. He toyed with his adversary before sweeping him off his feet with a kick, leaping outside the circle with a laugh. "You lost again! Usual rules: keep your stakes, just yell it three times!"
Grudging though he was, the boy obediently shouted three times, "Yang Yugan is number one under heaven!"
"A village urchin dares call himself number one under heaven?"
Just then, a bystander who had been watching all along chimed in. "The martial path is vast and profound. You pick up a bit of external kung fu and puff yourself up with pride, ignorant of the fact that there are always masters beyond masters, and skies beyond skies?"
"Lecturing me? Beat me first, then I'll listen!"
Yang Yugan's eyes lit up with excitement as he pounced forward.
Following Chen Qi's instructions, Yuen Woo-ping sought to highlight the distinct flavor of different styles. Yang Yugan currently practiced Piguaquan, emphasizing extended reaches and long-range strikes, while the stranger wielded Baguazhang, shifting evasively and coiling close.
One fighting from a distance, the other up close. Yang Yugan repeatedly tried to create space, but the man stuck to him like a serpent, easily dismantling him.
Without a trace of resentment, Yang Yugan dropped to his knees and kowtowed. Impressed by his character, the stranger offered a pointer: "I have no desire to take an apprentice, nor do I have time to teach. But I can point you down a bright path: there is Xingyi in Taigu, Shanxi, and Tai Chi in Wen County, Henan. Go seek them out yourself!"
Crisp and nimble, the opening jumped straight into the main plot.
A martial arts fanatic, Yang Yugan set out to find a master. Thwarted in his search for Xingyi, he headed to Chenjiagou in pursuit of Tai Chi. But ancestral rules forbade teaching outsiders, and Clan Patriarch Chen Zhengying threw him out.
Refusing to give up, he lingered around the village perimeter, which led to a chance encounter with Chen Shaomei.
Chen Shaomei and her maid Xiao Tao were flying a kite by the river when a gust swept it away. In their chase, Chen Shaomei accidentally fell into the water. Xiao Tao could not swim, and Yang Yugan happened upon the scene and rescued her.
Gong Xue wore an azure jacket with twin braids. Her character was born with a delicate constitution, so her makeup leaned deliberately into the aesthetic of a frail, sickly beauty. Yet she had a passion for martial arts and possessed vast theoretical knowledge, lending an air of heroic resolve to her fragile grace.
*This actress is quite good. Hong Kong doesn't have anyone with this particular charm.*
Watching the film, Shu Kei felt a flurry of ideas spark in his mind. Afraid of forgetting them later, he used the faint light from the screen to jot them down.
At first, he had merely appreciated the well-choreographed action and brisk, unbloated pacing. But as the story unfolded, he discovered more and more delightful surprises that nudged the film ever closer to the peak standards of Hong Kong kung fu cinema—perhaps even surpassing them.
For instance, the sequence where Chen Shaomei coached Yang Yugan:
"Your mind isn't calm! Remember: remain centered, relaxed, and balanced. Sink your qi to the dantian... conquer hardness with softness, and redirect force to strike back!"
*Thwack!*
A pebble flew through the air.
"Waist relaxed on the outside, firm within!"
*Thwack!* Another pebble flew over.
"Raise your arms!"
"Wrists two inches higher!"
"Keep your mind serene, undisturbed by ripples!"
With each thrown pebble, the camera cut to the corresponding part of Yang Yugan's body. Throw, cut, throw, cut—a rhythmic interplay of visuals paired with the crisp clack of the pebbles striking home, creating an unexpectedly captivating and immensely satisfying tempo.
*This sequence is brilliantly staged!*
Shu Kei was genuinely astonished. Hong Kong films were hardly lacking in training montages, but the sharp, rapid cuts and sheer visceral immersion of this training scene were unprecedented.
From the moment Yang Yugan began training in Tai Chi, the pacing surged, climbing even higher as the story pressed on.
Chen Shaojie caught his sister meeting secretly with an unknown man and sought to teach him a lesson, only for him and Yang Yugan to become fast friends through the skirmish. But Chen Zhengying found out as well; incensed, he resolved to destroy Yang Yugan's martial arts.
Just then, Ghost Face, played by Ji Chunhua, stormed in at the head of a gang. Chaos erupted, and Yang Yugan saved Chen Shaomei once again...
Chapter 149