These occurrences bring him closer to understanding the meaning of life and the true essence of martial arts. There's an incongruity here in filmmaker intent and actual execution. He Anxin ends up performing some dark acts himself, and should logically change as a result. To compensate for this superficiality, the film offers voiceover that explicates story themes and even He Anxin's character arc — though it sometimes reaches conclusions that don't seem to match He's onscreen behavior. Get ready for masterful and astonishing martial arts sequences that elevate the art of physical combat to a new level as this fable of good versus evil unfolds.
The monk finds himself immersed in a deadly battle to protect both the book and his master. By offering commentary on the martial arts genre and serving up cool martial arts scenes, Chen Kaige is trying to have his cake and eat it too. These inconsistencies make Monk Comes Down the Mountain into less than it could have been, though it still qualifies as an entertaining and sometimes thoughtful spectacle. A variety of different master-disciple and father-son relationships and dynamics drive the film, and each is interesting in its own way, pushing the story forward without too many clumsily inserted life lessons. Taking place in 1930s China, this period comedy-adventure concerns monk He Anxia Wang Baoqiang , who leaves his monastery and is challenged to remain true to himself while travelling through the far-from-pure secular world. There's an incongruity here in filmmaker intent and actual execution. Review by Kozo: Chen Kaige delivers a change-of-pace with the enjoyable if slight martial arts fable Monk Comes Down the Mountain.
Also, the lengthy action scenes, while genuinely entertaining, don't comment on the genre like those in The Sword Identity. Also, the lengthy action scenes, while genuinely entertaining, don't comment on the genre like those in The Sword Identity. For Chen Kaige, Monk Comes Down the Mountain likely won't be a required stop in his filmography, but it's an unusual, unexpected and subtly worthwhile detour. Still best known for Farewell my Concubine, inarguably one of the best films of modern Chinese cinema, Fifth Generation director Chen has had somewhat of a mixed career since, with as many duds and flops to his name as acclaimed hits. He Anxin is like an innocent child who's exposed to good and bad influences, and while he sometimes registers affect from his encounters, he ultimately doesn't change all that much.
A young monk embarks on an adventurous journey after being kicked out of his monastery. In search of a mentor, he crosses paths with a Kung Fu master who is in possession of the Book of Secrets, which reveals the lost art of the deadly Ape Strike Kung Fu technique. The monk finds himself immersed in a deadly battle to protect both the book and his master. He Anxin is like an innocent child who's exposed to good and bad influences, and while he sometimes registers affect from his encounters, he ultimately doesn't change all that much. In the past, Chen has clearly struggled to turn his hand to more populist box office fare, being far more comfortable with Cultural Revolution allegories, so it's somewhat of a pleasant surprise to find Monk seeing him successfully marrying his approach with something more commercially-friendly.
For Chen Kaige, Monk Comes Down the Mountain likely won't be a required stop in his filmography, but it's an unusual, unexpected and subtly worthwhile detour. That film revealed grand-sounding martial arts techniques to be pretentious and even ridiculous by showing them in a grounded, satirical manner. Though far from being a classic, Monk Comes Down the Mountain is several notches above most other Chinese period blockbusters of the last few years, and definitely a superior Chen Kaige offering. While the script is episodic and meandering, the film is nevertheless a fine piece of storytelling, and a rare example of a modern Chinese blockbuster that doesn't patronise its audience too much. He's journey is told episodically as he encounters one learned master after the other, starting with doctor Cui Daoning Fan Wei and moving to monk Rusong Wang Xueqi before settling into apprenticeships with martial artists Zhou Xiyu Aaron Kwok and Boss Zha Chang Chen. In search of a mentor, he crosses paths with a Kung Fu master who is in possession of the Book of Secrets, which reveals the lost art of the deadly Ape Strike Kung Fu technique. However, whenever each episode starts up, He seems back to his innocent, gee-whiz self, which makes the character and narrative seem disconnected.
Rusong, in particular, brings a strong Buddhist ethos to the film, and it's easy to see how the filmmakers use these clashes between the secular and the spiritual worlds to illuminate the genre and its characters. The film benefits from remaining firmly focused on An Xia, and the big name supporting cast are all the more effective for being used with a modicum of restraint. He Anxin ends up performing some dark acts himself, and should logically change as a result. The rare book is coveted by a sinister father and son who will go to any extremes to obtain it. It's hard to know exactly what to expect from Monk Comes Down the Mountain, as it largely depends on which version of Chen Kaige is at the helm, the director of Farewell my Concubine and Sacrifice, or the man who inflicted Killing Me Softly and The Promise on baffled audiences.
Synopsis An impoverished young monk, who has spent his entire life in a monastery located on top of a mountain, is forced to encounter the real world when he travels down the mountain for the first time. He Anxin may be the star of the movie, but the movie is perhaps not about him. © The content on this page was originally created by YesAsia. Prices in other currencies are shown for reference only. Boss Zha Chang Chen,Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , an opera singer with a knack for spears as well as Zhou Xiyu Asian pop superstar, Aaron Kwok , a broom wielding Taoist.
These inconsistencies make Monk Comes Down the Mountain into less than it could have been, though it still qualifies as an entertaining and sometimes thoughtful spectacle. Through Daoning, He is introduced to lust and betrayal; through Xiyu, He encounters virtue and austerity; and through Ruson, He finds temptation and greater understanding. The young monk must now protect the book and his master at all costs as he engages in a deadly battle with the antagonists. At the same time, whatever He learns doesn't seem to have a lasting effect on his personality. A naïve and troublesome, though essentially good-hearted fellow, An Xia ends up working in the household of aging medicine man Tsui Daoning Fan Wei caught up in a complicated relationship triangle between him, his beautiful wife Yuzhen Lin Chi Ling and his playboy brother Daorong Vanness Wu. Each stop on He's journey brings him new knowledge and insight into the world. There's compelling material to be found in the juxtaposition between martial arts idealism and human reality, and the fanciful, slightly exaggerated mise-en-scène makes the darker elements murder, blood, sin go down easier.
The actors tend to play caricatures, but they do them well, from Chang Chen's glowering badass to Aaron Kwok's venerable master to Lin Chiling's adulterous wife, who's bursting with buttoned-up sexuality. He Anxin may be the star of the movie, but the movie is perhaps not about him. While his character doesn't entirely make sense, Wang Baoqiang is perfectly cast as a smiling, wide-eyed simpleton, and Wang's ability to handle dramatic material is a large reason that the film does more than simply entertain. Wong Baoqiang is the title character in Monk Comes Down the Mountain. This turns out to be just the start of An Xia's tale, as he encounters a series of odd characters and martial artists, all following their own schemes and quests of vengeance.
When a young monk is forced to leave his impoverished monastery, he relies on his extraordinary martial arts skills to survive in the outside world. Wang Baoqiang plays a young monk called He An Xia, the film opening with him being told to leave the mountain monastery where he grew up as an orphan, the abbot telling him that his skills are strong enough for him to make his way in the outside world. That film revealed grand-sounding martial arts techniques to be pretentious and even ridiculous by showing them in a grounded, satirical manner. By offering commentary on the martial arts genre and serving up cool martial arts scenes, Chen Kaige is trying to have his cake and eat it too. A young monk embarks on an adventurous journey after being kicked out of his monastery. The book is highly desired by a pair of selfish father and son who are willing to do anything, including killing the innocent, to obtain it. After he descends the mountain, An Xia is confronted with a strange, fantastical world.