The Postman Fights Back (4 Stars)

No, this isn't the remake of a Kevin Costner film. It's a Hong Kong film made by Ronny Yu in 1982. Interestingly, the special effects look better than in "The Bride With The White Hair", which he made eleven years later.

It's not clear to me when the film takes place, but another reviewer says it's 1913. I don't know where he gets that from, but it makes sense, based on the technology we see in the film. Most of the action is with sword fights and kung fu, but in some scenes there are modern looking firearms.

Ma is a postman. He carries letters between villages. He isn't actually paid for his work. When he arrives in a village a collection is made among the people who are happy to receive mail. He's warned by his relatives that a new railroad is being built and he'll soon be unneeded.

He's asked to deliver four cases to a general in the north. At first he refuses, saying that he only delivers letters, but the pay is so much that he can't turn it down. He wants to do the delivery with two friends, but a fourth man that he hardly knows is added to the group. It's said that he knows the bandits on the road, so he'll be a good addition to the group. At first the extra man, Fu Jun, is an outsider in the group, but he soon makes friends with the others.

So they set off. They're forbidden to open the cases, however curious they are about the contents. On the way they're frequently attacked by bandits. Is it worth the money? To add to the problems, two women attach themselves to the group. One is a woman from Ma's village who wants to go to Shanghai to buy her sister back from slavery. Another is a woman who they rescue from bandits on the way.

The film is good, though confusing. I suspect I'd enjoy it more if I knew the historical background. What was happening in China in 1913? I have no idea. But one thing that disturbs me is that the film has so much smoking. The postman and his three companions are constantly puffing at cigarettes. Don't they get out of breath when they're fighting?

Another problem is that the film is uneven. For the first half hour Ma, the postman, is the main character, but as it continues Fu Jun has more screen time.