The legendary King Hu (1932-1997) set a new gold standard for the Chinese martial arts film (wuxia pian). REDCAT presents a restored version of one of his most stellar achievements, Kong shan ling yu (Raining in the Mountain) (1979). Set during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), in a Buddhist monastery experiencing both a power struggle and a struggle for the sacred Mahayana Sutras, Hu has staged precisely choreographed fights that echo figures of Chinese opera — bodies flying in the air become pure light and light itself becomes pure thought: spirited battles of wits, as well as a metaphor for Buddhist metaphysics. At the center of this sumptuous ballet is the amazing and delightfully evil Hsu Feng, described by critics as “the screen’s gravest, most ravishing woman warrior.”
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Presented in Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) with English subtitles.
The program includes a post-screening talk with Cheng-Sim Lim.