Reel Asian Preview: Kung-Fu, Political Thrillers, and More Kung-Fu (Well, Wing Chun)

By Torontoist

Fists fly with frantic fury in Gallants.

The fourteenth annual Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival kicks off on Tuesday, November 9, and for those of you curious about exploring the fest’s endless East Asian bounties, we’ll be previewing a few of the dozens of film and video titles screening this year. Today, Torontoist’s John Semley and Ryan West look at a few martial arts set pieces, and Yoshihiro Nakamura’s follow-up to Fish Story, which took home the Audience Award at last year’s festival.

If you’re looking for a fun popcorn film to check out at Reel Asian this year, you can’t do much better than Gallants. But stick to the popcorn—no candy or sugary soda pop or milk duds. A sugar-high-induced headache would almost certainly turn Gallants’ lightning-quick kung fu assault into a nauseating, maybe even nightmarish, experience.
Gallants stars Wong Yau-Nam as Cheung, a browbeaten and largely incompetent loser stuck in a middling real estate job. After ticking off his boss one too many times, he’s sent to a remote village to check out a property his company is planning to redevelop. Sure enough, that property turns out to be the site of a formerly prestigious dojo, now operating as a teahouse under the management of martial artists Dragon (Chen Kuan-Tai) and Tiger (Leung Siu-Lung).
Cheung soon finds himself enlivened by their struggle to save their rundown business and turns against his bosses to help his new friends protect their legacy. Gallants is more than just some zero-to-hero kung fu story. Appropriately, considering it’s the opening night gala film, Gallants is Kwok and Cheng’s love letter to the Chinese cinema they grew up on, and a clever nod to the old misconception that literally every person in China is an adept martial artist. It’s a bit too hyper and slapdash in its assembly, but when Gallants works, it works really well. JOHN SEMLEY

A delivery man’s on the run in Golden Slumber. Look out!

Yoshihiro Nakamura follows his Audience Award–winning entry from last year’s Reel Asian Fish Story with Golden Slumber, Japan’s answer to The Fugitive. This archetypal action thriller follows the unfortunate exploits of Aoyagi, a cheerful and guileless deliveryman who’s framed for the assassination of Japan’s prime minister.
Nakamura makes several allusions to American influences on his narrative style, primarily in regular comparisons to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. However, while Golden Slumber includes plenty of dramatic staples, it also turns just as many on their ear. While ensnared in a complex conspiracy by a sinister government organization, Aoyagi finds aid and solace in an eclectic array of characters he encounters throughout his pursuit, including a rockabilly truck driver and adolescent serial killer.
Elements of political intrigue take a welcome backstory to a character study of Aoyagi himself, whose naivete evolves gradually from a matter of buffoonish comedy to profound idealism. “My only source of strength left,” Aoyagi emotionally insists after being chastised for yet another betrayal, “is to trust people.” This admirable integrity makes him an easy hero to identify with—and to cheer for, as he struggles to clear his name. RYAN WEST

Mr. Ip is ready to do battle (again) in Ip Man 2.

Mr. Ip can’t catch a break. Not only is his fledgling martial arts academy struggling to attract students—leaving Ip (Donnie Yen) and his wife (Lynn Hung) behind on rent—but every time he leaves his house it seems like some new gang of expertly trained ne’er-do-wells wants to kick his ass. A sequel to the 2008 semi-autobiographical period drama Ip Man, Wilson Yip’s Ip Man 2 exhibits a focus considerably more narrow than its predecessor, but is all the better for it. Where the original had martial arts master Ip Man defending the Forshan province against Japanese invaders, Ip Man 2 focuses on our hero’s attempt to make a life for himself in Hong Kong, teaching the close-quarter combat style of Wing Chun to eager students.
Martial arts films tend to snag themselves on how exactly to seamlessly integrate precisely choreographed fight scenes into the larger narrative flow, generally building their stories around some kind of high-stakes battle royale. Ip Man 2, in dealing explicitly with teaching martial arts, cleverly handles this problem, allowing the scenes of jaw-dropping fight scenes to flow effortlessly. And while it doesn’t hinge on its historical backdrop as crucially, save for a few scenes foregrounding the effects of British Colonial rule in 1950s Hong Kong, Ip Man 2 is a deeply personal character study, often as affecting as it is purely exhilarating. JOHN SEMLEY
Reel Asian launches Tuesday, November 9. For a full schedule and ticket information, head to the festival’s website.