Betrayal and Revenge (1986)

Betrayal and Revenge (1986)
Chinese Title: 天國恩仇
Translation: Heavenly Enmity

 

Starring: On A-Ping, Chan Hong, So Gin, Pong Lam-Tai, Hoh Fook-Sang, Yan Hua, Fang Jian, Feng Li-Nuo, Sha Xiao-Kui, A Fu-Sheng, Cui Ming-Pu
Director: Zhou Kang-Yu
Action Director: Li Kai-Ming, Lu Yong-Bin

 

My fourth Mainland Chinese film in one week and all I have to say, “Now, this is more like it!” After two mediocre kung fu movies, we get to one of the better examples of why people love Mainland movies so much: lots of beautiful Chinese landscapes and scenery on display, lots of fights (both group and individual), and an interesting historical plot.

Like the movie The Warlords (2007) that I reviewed earlier this year, this movie is set during the Taiping Rebellion. The story isn’t too hard to follow. Basically, most of the Taipings are slaughtered one night shortly after the passing of the their emperor. A large group of them manage to escape, but are eventually attacked by the Qing army. The Taiping general is killed after he’s betrayed by one of his fellow rebels. His son and a few others survive the conflict. The son is found by a loyal follower of the Taiping movement, who’s also a supreme martial artist, and the son gets to hone his skills during the next several years. The son eventually meets up with another group of Taipings, including a girl he was friends with as a boy. They spend some time training together before launching a big attack on the Qing army and the traitor, who’s now an official.

Before talking about the fights, there was one scene that really made me lift an eyebrow. You see, the Taipings were Christians right? Well, there’s one scene where they slit a chicken’s throat, pour its blood into some bowls, and drink it as part of a ritual. I immediately thought, “What kind of Christians are these?” I paused the movie and went to the Wikipedia to read more about them. Turns out that their sect of Christianity is generally considered to be somewhat heretical. Their leader considered himself to be the literal brother of Christ. He also had wrote or compiled other books of “scripture” as well. Interesting.

The fights were plentiful, and what they lack in weight is easily made up for by the volume. The choreography isn’t very complex and, unlike the Hong Kong choreographers that worked on Mainland Chinese movies, the ones here are at a loss at how to give a good showcase to the individual styles featured in the film. However, there are lots of weapons on display, including razor rings, hoops, hammers, melon hammers, rakes(!), spears, swords, sabers, poles, throwing daggers, etc. The wushu on display is top-notch.

The last battle had some interesting tactics on display, including cannonballs filled with shrapnel, bees, children with blowguns full of acid, and goats with firecrackers tied to their tales that went mad when they exploded, causing them (the goats) to attack the Qings and bite them in their privates. I swear I’m not making that up.

Highly recommended.