Kid with the Golden Arm (4 Stars)

It's no coincidence that I've been watching so many Chinese films lately. I'm getting sick of the people around me blaming China for the Coronavirus. My ex-wife told me a few days ago, "After this is over I'm never going to a Chinese restaurant again". What a stupid thing to say! Even if China really is to blame for the Coronavirus (which I doubt), what good does it do blaming the hard-working restaurant owners in Germany? They don't sell bat soup. The most exotic meal I've ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant in Germany was Sweet and Sour Kangaroo. And it was delicious!

The first thing I'll do after the Coronavirus quarantine is go to a Chinese buffet and enjoy a large meal. If possible, I'll visit a Chinese restaurant in Schwäbisch Hall, because there are two restaurants that I prefer to any in Stuttgart. They're more expensive, but they have a better selection. For now, I'll just content myself with watching good Chinese films. Two months ago there was a special offer at Amazon.de in which I was able to buy Shaw Brothers films on Blu-ray for five Euros each. I jumped at the offer and placed a ridiculously large order. Now I'm finally getting round to watching them.

This is a completely different film to "The New Shaolin Boxers", that I watched yesterday. It was obvious to me that Fu Sheng was a skilled fighter, even if everything was choreographed. In "Kid with the Golden Arm" it doesn't look like genuine fighting at all. The fight scenes look more like ballet, with arms, legs and various weapons clashing stylistically in mid air.

It's unclear when the film is supposed to take place. It's kept deliberately vague. It could be any time between 1000 BC and 1800 AD. A shipment of gold is being delivered to a famine stricken area. Government agents have hired four skilled fighters (Hero Li, Miss Leng, Short Axe Yang and Long Axe Fang) to assist them, because a gang called the Deadly Valley wants to steal the gold. Deadly Valley's leader is the Kid with the Golden Arm. Actually his arms aren't golden, he just wears gold bracelets. Translation? He has four fighters in his gang: Man with Iron Arms, Silver Spear, Iron Fan and Copper Head. Wow! They sound like the villains from a super-hero film.

There's also a wild card. Sheriff Hai Tao turns up to oversee the transport, working independently of the others. His speciality is that he's always drunk. He pulls a wagon with enormous jugs of wine, as well as carrying several small flasks on his person. When he walks he staggers, but when he fights he's unbeatable. There have been a few martial arts films with drunken fighters. That seems to be a running joke, a contrast to the holy Shaolin monks.

It's obviously a low budget film. In the outdoor scenes we can see that the sky and clouds are painted on a wall. They didn't put in much of an effort to hide it. Didn't they think anyone would notice?

I've read that this is one of the most highly acclaimed Shaw Brothers films. That's surprising. To me it looks like a comedy romp. The fights are like a series of vignettes, strung together by a paper thin plot. Yes, there's a lot of violence. People die in the fights, but the battles are so surreal that it's difficult to take the deaths seriously. I enjoy the film, but I wouldn't call it one of the best.