The Patriotic Heroine
Director: Wang Hung-chang
Year: 1971
Rating: 7.0
This Taiwanese
wuxia was a very pleasant surprise. It is terrific with fighting from beginning
to end with all the wuxia elements that we love so much. Coming from first-time
director Wang Hung-chang it is especially surprising. He appears to have
studied the wuxia films of King Hu because he gets everything right. A lot
of traditional aspects such as the evil Eunuch with white hair who is a master
martial artist to a fine inn fight, great trampoline work, fighting femmes
and lots of nifty skills. I am pretty sure I got this off of YouTube and
it isn't a crisp clean video, but someone went to the trouble of adding subs
in yellow so that they are easy to read. Of course, the word translated most
often is "kill kill". Though it is to some degree an ensemble piece with
a few actors getting solid screen time, the standout is Chang Ching-ching.
Not one of Taiwan's better-known female action actors but this is the sixth
film I have seen her in and I am always impressed. Presence and a strong
face as much as anything.
The Eunuch Gao (Yi Yuan) has been imprisoned
for treason and is to be executed the next day. Some of his men are able
to freeze the guards and switch Gao for a lookalike who gets executed instead.
Gao goes on a killing spree during the opening credits to silence all the
people who testified against him. He is thought to be dead though and continues
his nefarious plan to overthrow the Emperor with the help of Prince Hua Qing
(Ma Chi), There are two individuals working against him but not knowing about
the other. Chang is one and Chiang Ming is the other. In fact, Chang saw
Chiang walking away from a murder and thinks he did it and he saw her walking
away from a murder and thinks she did it. He and everyone else also think
she is a he. In one amusing scene, Chang is drugged by a female and then
sexually groped - the other female freaks out when she discovers the truth
and tries to kill her.
The main thing though is the action - near
non-stop as the Eunuch and the Prince send out hundreds of minions to kill
them before they can inform the Emperor. Lots of one on many set-pieces that
are all well-choreographed and deadly - though not bloody. The daughter of
the Prince saves Chiang after he has been wounded by a poison dart and falls
for him - not knowing that he is out to get her father for treason. She (Liu
Ching) turns out to be pretty handy with a sword as does a friend (Lee Kui-on).
Enough fighting for everyone. Chang uses her metal low wide brimmed hat as
a killing machine but also can throw it across a river and then ride on it.
And uproot a tree. There is a fight on a rickety-wooden bridge over an abyss
that is terrific as one man after another falls to his death. I always love
a good wuxia with women warriors. This hit the spot.
