Das unbesiegbare Schwert (1993)

Das unbesiegbare Schwert: Directed by Ronny Yu. With Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Francis Ng, Elaine Lui. Cho Yat-Hang, the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan’s forces in a war against an evil cult, falls in forbidden love with Lien Ni-Chang, a killer for the evil cult.

“The u0026quot;Bride with White Hairu0026quot; is often defined as a wuxiapian version of u0026quot;Romeo and Julietu0026quot;: indeed itu0026#39;s amusing, as we follow this tale of two warriors united by love but separated by their belonging to opposite clans, to ponder on the many joints with Shakespeareu0026#39;s tragedy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enFor half of the movie (i.e. 45 minutes), it qualifies as being one of the most astounding fantasy movies I ever saw: firstly, it captures the spectator by showing beautiful images and settings (and Iu0026#39;m sure Cho Yi-hang [Leslie Cheung] is not the only one who dropped, out of bewilderment, his jaw!). Secondly, it creates an aura of mystery around the female lead Lien Ni-chang [Lin Ching Hsia], an assassin who is not less beautiful than she is deadly with the whip. Indeed, Cho Yi-hang one day accidentally stumbles upon her and, although her face is shrouded by a veil and only her eyes appear to him, inevitably falls for her. Out of trivia, in another movie Lin Ching Hsia reveals just the rest of her face (i.e. masking herself behind a raincoat and sunglasses) and yet spellbinds people – precisely, Takeshi Kaneshiro. Is there any way that people can escape Lin Ching Hsiau0026#39;s charm?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo far for the good points for u0026quot;Brideu0026quot;: fascinating setting, a clever hero (with an endearing portrait of his childhood included) and an alluring assassin, all surrounded by a thick veil of mystery and folklore.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enOn the negative side, the second half of the movie. Just as Cho Yi-hangu0026#39;s feelings get corresponded by Lien Ni-chang and we expect that love will provide a new injection of vitality and creativity over the ruthless and cold world they dwell in, the movie sinks into predictability and shallowness: our heroes just donu0026#39;t have the same mutual trust that Romeo and Juliet had and, since their decisions are guided, more than love, by their impulsive nature, I missed being fully emotionally involved into their ending struggle. However, the transformation that overcomes sorrowful Lien Ni-chang is super-cool! 7/10”