Chor Yuen is at his most fanciful in this colorful Wuxia that edges towards
the supernatural but is in the end a morality play on the human condition.
He bathes the film with extremely artificial sets and lighting of greens
and blues, fog rising from the ground and ornate costumes and mansions. There
is no attempt at realism in the film; not a tree or blade of grass is real.
Everything is under Chor Yuen's control and looks well-polished, hazy, make
believe and imaginative. There are some well-choreographed martial arts thanks
to Tong Kai - one time partner of Lau Kar-leung for many years going back
to their Cantonese film collaborations. But it never quite works on an emotional
level though because all the players have their defined role in his attempt
to say something about human weaknesses. You can almost label them with adjectives
- pride, deceit, loyalty, ambition, greed and wisdom.
Ding Peng (Derek Yee, honestly looking prettier than the women in the film)
is making the rounds of the Martial Arts world challenging one master after
another and defeating them. Not killing them but simply putting them in a
position where he could. It almost feels like the old days of tennis where
players would challenge one another and a match would be set up and crowds
would attend. The same here - crowds watch and cheer them on and ooh and
aah at a good move. Ding is working his way up the rankings and challenges
the man above him - Liu Ruo Song (Wang Yong). Song is quite devious though
and sends out his wife (Meg Lam) to seduce this young man and steal his martial
arts manual. With this in his hand, Song not only is able to defeat Ding
but humiliate him as well.
Ding goes off to apologize to his dead father and considers killing himself
but Qing Qing intervenes and takes him back to her Clan's hideaway and explains
that she too is dead - a Fox Ghost. Her outfit is great - it looks like a
silk voting booth but more fashionable. She is played by Lisa Wong Ming-cheun
in one of her very few films before she left for a singing career and in
Chinese Opera (that is her who sings the song at the beginning of the film).
Too bad. She is great but not as pretty as Derek Yee. They fall in love as
men are wont to do with Fox Ghosts and they get married with the stamp of
approval of her father and mother (Ching Miao and Teresa Ha Ping).
He is happy but he is human and the need to revenge himself on Song is gnawing
at him. He has learned how to use a scimitar and he persuades his Foxy Lady
to come with him. Dad gives them two boxes of jewels as a farewell present.
The old saying pride goes before the fall is apt as he becomes arrogant and
ambitious as he grows rich and successful and accumulates enemies. Some good
action with Norman Tsui, Yueh Hua, Chan Shen, Ku Kuan-chung and Johnny Wang
Lung-wei in the middle of it.
