Shaolin (5 Stars)

This is an example of what cinema should be about. The film has everything. A tale of morals, with fast action, comic interludes, romance and deep spirituality, and all set against a historical background. I admit that I bought the film because of Jackie Chan, but Andy Lau is the actor who carries the film. After his attempts to depart from evil we laugh and cry with him on every step of his journey.

I'm not an expert in Chinese history, but to the best of my knowledge this film takes part at the beginning of the 20th Century, round about 1910. Andy Lau plays General Hou Jie, an evil man who desecrates a Shaolin temple while hunting for his enemies who have taken refuge. When he becomes the target of an assassination attempt by his lieutenant he returns to the temple and asks to become a monk in order to atone for his past deeds. He's sent to work in the kitchen where he serves the temple's cook, played by Jackie Chan. For a few years he lives in peace, thought dead by the outside world, until his old enemies discover him and want to kill him. But he's now on a path of peace.

Apart from telling the tale of General Hou's spiritual development, it's also a film that shows a transition from the past to the present. The monks defend themselves with swords or their bare fists, while their enemies are armed with guns and cannons. The old holy grounds have to be dug up to build railways. Maybe it's a slight spoiler, but the temple itself has to be abandoned, so the monks and novices are confronted with the task of living a spiritual life in the outside world.

Click here to view the trailer. It's a breathtaking trailer, worth watching. Sometimes trailers are made that exaggerate a film's potential, picking out the few good scenes and making it look better than it is. Not in this case. The film delivers everything that the trailer promises.

Incidentally, I've been told that Andy Lau isn't primarily an actor, he's best known in China as a singer. A quick web search has informed me that he's recorded SIXTY-ONE albums! Wow! And he still has time to make films?