4/5

The Heroic Ones

Directed by Chang Cheh

Written by Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang

Produced by Run Run Shaw

1970 Hong Kong

To prove his loyalty to the emperor a Shatuo chief man, part of the turkic region of China, must send his thirteen sons to infiltrate a rebel city. Though the prowess of his sons is unmatched, it turns out that internal strife will be the undoing of the family.

The most impressive part of this film is the sheer grandeur. Both in story telling and stylistically. To start, this plot has something almost biblical about it. Or else something of a Greek tragedy about it, like Euripides or Sophocles. It is an ancient balled of thirteen brothers, jousting power, jealously, and recognition. It is high drama at its finest. From an anthropological stand point, it's interesting to see a so similar tale told from one society to the next.

Side by side with epic drama, is another theme that is common in Kung Fu movies. That is loyalty to the state. Patriotism is such a reoccurring theme that it begs the question: why does it make its way into just about every film. I can only speculate, but perhaps it is partly due to limited freedom of expression in China at the time. Even considering most of these movies are from Hong Kong a region of China controlled by the British empire during this period. The British released control of Hong Kong is 1997. How ever the golden age of Kung Fu films fell in the 60s and 70s, placing it well under the period of occupation. Straddled in between these two powers the Hong Kong film industry enjoyed the mixed benefits from both. So whether it is inadvertent propaganda of the state, or just a strong push of writers and production companies to create an art that fosters pride and unity within the Chinese community it is hard to say. Certainly, this is an understandable goal after the Century of Humiliation and the Japanese colonial era of Chinese history. Rekindling a sense of national pride or power is clearly a goal of Kung Fu movies.

In the United States cinema is usually quite different. Although 80s movies tend to up play patriotism, Americans tend to love anti-heroes. Like the Joker or Travis Bickle or John Wayne in the Searchers. This theme almost completely absent from Chinese cinema. However, both countries are connected in that their heroes are usually portrayed as underdogs. Individuals or clans fighting against some awe inspiring power which is oppressive and distant. Like Lukes battle against the Empire in Star Wars or Chen Zheng fight against the Japanese Dojo in Fists of Fury. I think it is the consistent theme of the underdog hero which is why Kung Fu movies enjoy such popularity inAmerica.

This could be a worldwide and timeless theme, however it is interesting that the underdog story is religiously represented in the movies of both the most powerful countries in the world. Intuitively, I would think the opposite would be true. Great and powerful nations tell the stories of top down power, not the bottom rising up. But this is just not the case. And perhaps it is this uniting theme of an uphill battle against unimaginable power that unites both the American and Chinese psyche. And perhaps, if we can go back to the anthropological perspective, it is this theme in the mythology of both countries that has partly contributed to the nations success. Not all heroes are equal in the way they serve their culture. And the flourishing of a nation is partly reliant on the mindset of the people. However difficult it is to measure, it is certain that myths and legends serve to create the mindset of the common psyche. It just that the modern myth is usually in the form of cinema, instead of books play or ballads. And in the process of cultural evolution, natural selection favors some and not others.

“It is man that makes truth great and not truth that makes man great”

-Confucius