With some films there's a "before" and an "after" - the kind of films that set the standards for decades to come. And the Wachowski sisters' The Matrix is without a doubt one of them: a milestone in dystopian cinema, where cyberpunk philosophy meets the most elegant and muscular action choreography of the early 2000s. Could anyone forget Neo and his extraordinary ability to dodge bullets by bending backward like a reed? Or the endless shootouts against the countless clones of Agent Smith?
Of course they couldn't. And the creator of these marvels is long-standing legend Yuen Woo-ping, to whom the Udine Far East Film Festival will be paying a double tribute: the Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement and the presentation of his latest film, Blades of the Guardians, the (surprise) closing title of the upcoming 28th edition!
A director as well as the architect of an absolutely unmistakable style, where martial arts are transformed into pure visual experience, Yuen Woo-ping conquered first Hong Kong (Drunken Master, the film that definitively cemented Jackie Chan's reputation, Iron Monkey, True Legend) and then the world of international cinema, directing his own movies or collaborating with the top names in the industry. Along with the Wachowski sisters' The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, we only need think of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Quentin Tarantino's two Kill Bill films, and Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmaster: Yuen Woo-ping's incredible athletic/acrobatic vision played a huge role in making them the cult classics they are.
A bounty hunter, a wanted man to escort, an infinite number of obstacles to overcome… Based on the award-winning comic book series Biao Ren, the story of a mercenary warrior who must brave the dangers of the desert and the political turmoil of the late Sui Dynasty, Blades of the Guardians combines classic elements of the Western, blazing Chinese martial arts and the sweeping scope of ancient history. Anyone wondering whether the film's proudly old-school approach would mesh well with the manhua style, so potent on paper, need not worry: Blades of the Guardians more than lives up to expectations, amping up the adrenaline and cinephile excitement (one of the key scenes, shot in a Mad Max-style sandstorm, continues to receive plaudits!).
Before concluding, we just want to emphasise how hard it is to believe that someone capable of evoking such powerful emotions and crafting such breathtaking action sequences celebrated his 81st birthday a few months ago! And Blades of the Guardians, which was released during the Chinese New Year, will leave you even more amazed: how much energy and imagination does it take to create such a thrilling and spectacular wuxia epic? And how much energy do you need to have to skip taking a well-earned break and immediately start planning a sequel?