The Sword – Eureka

Director: Patrick Tam Kar-Ming
Screenplay: Wong Ying, Clifford Choi, Patrick Tam Kar-Ming
Starring: Adam Cheng, Tien Feng, Eddy Ko Hung, Norman Chu, Chui Kit, Jade Hsu, Bonnie Ngai Chau-Wah, JoJo Chan Kei-Kei
Country: Hong Kong
Running Time: 89 min
Year: 1980
BBFC Certificate: 15

Wuxia films existed in Chinese cinema since the 1920s but, after the genre was banned by the authorities in the ‘30s and the country closed its borders in 1949, filmmakers moved to Hong Kong to produce them. The genre saw a resurgence in the mid-late ‘60s, following the successes of King Hu’s Come Drink With Me and Dragon Inn but this fizzled out once Bruce Lee hit the scene and kung-fu movies took over in the early ‘70s.

In 1980, however, a young filmmaker named Patrick Tam, who had previously worked in TV, was tasked by Golden Harvest with directing a wuxia-pan, led by TV star Adam Cheng. This film was named The Sword.

Whilst not a huge success, it proved to be an influential title that marked Tam out as being part of the burgeoning Hong Kong New Wave as well as helping kick-start the next generation of wuxia films that blossomed in the early 90s. As such, it acts as a sort of transition between traditional wuxia films and the more modern iterations.

The Sword is perhaps not given the respect it deserves though, or is, at least, not as well known as some of the films it inspired, like Ashes of Time and Hero (2002). Looking to give The Sword a new lease of life then, are Eureka, who are releasing the film on Blu-ray.

Of course, I had to give it a watch, so I requested a screener and my thoughts follow.

The story revolves around Li Mak-Yin (Adam Cheng), a young but skilled swordsman who seeks to challenge the legendary swordsman Fa Chin-shu (Tien Feng) to a duel. This is because he wishes to win his famous but seemingly cursed “Chi Mud” sword (a.k.a. the “Harmonious Sword”) and be crowned the greatest swordsman of the jianghu (the martial arts world of ancient China).

As Li Mak-Yin embarks on his quest, he encounters Fa Ying-chi (Chui Kit), a woman pursued by a rival clan, and Yin Siu-yu (JoJo Chan), an old love from his past. His love for the latter reignites but he finds she is now married to the cruel swordsman Lin Wan (Norman Chu), who the audience learns is also after Fa Chin-shu and particularly his “Chi Mud” sword.

As Li Mak-Yin’s journey progresses, he becomes entangled in a complex web of relationships and conflicts. His pursuit of Fa Chin-shu is fueled by a desire for recognition and power, but his encounters with Fa Ying-chi, Yin Siu-yu and later Fa Chin-shu himself awaken long-buried emotions and challenge his unwavering focus.

Though a little confusing to begin with, the story is relatively simple by the end, in comparison to a lot of wuxia films. There’s a refreshing minimalism in the small cast of characters, in particular. That, added to a bold visual style, gives The Sword a flavour of Jean-Pierre Melville. Like that director’s films, The Sword focuses on the internal struggles of its protagonist rather than getting bogged down in plot.

Indeed, it’s a film about obsession and how it only leads to suffering. It’s quite an existential, psychological drama. Li Mak-Yin is blinkered by his quest until he discovers the damage it has done. This leads to a finale that’s poignant and melancholic rather than the heroic end you get to most traditional wuxia films.

It’s not all psychological pondering though. There’s a classic romanticism to the film. The unrequited romance between Li Mak-Yin and Yin Siu-yu is achingly portrayed, aided by the film’s score by Joseph Koo. I must admit, I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with this though. Whilst I thought the main theme was beautiful and I admired Koo’s blend of traditional instruments and synths, the music is laid on a bit too thick, leading to it feeling rather overblown by the end.

This heavy-handed use of music, on top of the romantic sweep of the film, make it move into melodrama territory, which might rub some up the wrong way. Personally, I didn’t mind, as it gave the film a grand, operatic feeling that befitted its period setting, but it did feel a little overwrought in spots.

In terms of visual style, the film impressed me a great deal though. Tam is an interesting New Wave director in that he didn’t adopt a documentary-like approach, which is common to contemporaries moving from TV to film, but he was instead inspired by Western cinema, particularly European arthouse directors. You can also see the influence of King Hu in this film and, indeed, Tam namedrops the director in an interview included in this release’s booklet.

There’s great use of minimal light and rich colours, as well as movement. Slow motion is utilised in places too and the fight scenes are dynamically presented. It’s an absolute feast for the senses.

Let’s not forget though, that this is a wuxia-pan and, in amongst the romanticism, we get plenty of superb action scenes and a couple of graphically violent moments that shock you out of the melodrama.

The sword fights are faster than most wuxia clashes that preceded it. It gives the battles a great deal of energy and relative realism. There are some occasional fantastical flourishes and physics defying leaps, but wirework is used relatively sparingly.

The film had two action directors – Tang Tak-cheung and Ching Siu-tung. The former reportedly came onto the project first, with Ching joining half-way through at the behest of Golden Harvest, who felt Tang was moving a little slowly. Tam claims that he asked the choreographers not to handle the scenes all by themselves, but to follow what he intended to do, so that he could work with the material in the edit as planned. This helped give a cohesiveness to the action.

The use of the two action directors also reflects the gap-bridging nature of the film among the wuxia genre. Tang could perhaps be thought of as a more ‘old-school’ choreographer, whereas Ching would go on to become an important figure in shaping the new wave of wuxia films. He worked as action choreographer for later classics like Hero (2002), as well as directing and working on the action for the excellent Duel to the Death and the Chinese Ghost Story films, which were clearly influenced by The Sword.

So, whilst the melodramatic aspects of The Sword might not be for everyone, if you can channel into its blend of operatic romance, internalised psychology and classic wuxia thrills, you’re in for a treat. It doesn’t hurt that the sword fights are great and the film looks stunning.

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