So Chan is the rich, spoilt son of a powerful general in late imperial China;
he’s lazy and illiterate, but surprisingly skilled at martial arts. While
pursuing a beautiful courtesan named Yu-shang he enters the imperial martial
arts contest to win her hand in marriage. With his father’s help he cheats his
way through the written part and wins the physical tests, but he’s exposed as
illiterate at the last minute and accused of cheating. The emperor punishes
him by stripping his family of their wealth and forcing him to live as a beggar.
Thrown into a harsh new life on the streets, So struggles until an old beggar
he once helped teaches him humility and a mystical martial art called the
Sleeping Arhat Skill. This is a fighting style that can only be used while
asleep! When Yu-shang is kidnapped by a corrupt official with sinister plans
against the emperor, So rallies the Beggars’ Gang by pretending to channel a
legendary leader; he learns their secret techniques from an old manual and
leads them on a daring mission. After saving Yu-shang and foiling the plot to
assassinate the emperor, So is offered a reward but chooses to remain leader
of the beggars; he and Yu-shang wander the land helping the poor.
The film mixes slapstick, action and wuxia elements in a story about growth,
honour and unlikely heroism.
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