Every country has their big fat patriotic
war films and this one shouts it from the rooftops. It takes place during
the Second Sino-Japanese War leading up to WW2 and the Japanese are of course
portrayed as swine and the Chinese resistance fighters as heroes willing
to sacrifice all to drive the invaders out. We in the USA had plenty of similar
films during the war and in its aftermath. This was produced by Shaw some
forty years after the events of the film took place, but the Japanese had
not yet received a makeover. It is hard not to hold a grudge after what the
Japanese did. It is difficult to discern what political affiliation the fighters
are, but considering that this was put out by Shaw, they are definitely not
of the Communist persuasion. Just Chinese heroes perhaps. I read that
the film was made in 1973 - the date HKMDB gives it - but not released till
1976. Not sure if they didn't have a high opinion of it or perhaps were sensitive
to the Japanese depiction at the time, but a three-year gap seems odd.
It isn't a bad film at all. A fairly suspenseful
spy flick with a good shot of action at the end and needless to say filled
with sacrifice and courage. It only runs about 80-minutes and goes by quickly.
But not a lot happens to curl your toes. It is a cat and mouse game between
the Japanese Commander (Frankie Wei-hung) and the leader (Ling Yun) of a
small group of underground fighters. The script by of all people King Hu
and Ting Shan-hsi, who worked on Come Drink with Me together, is clever but
clearly this script was gathering dust for years. This is an unusual subject
for Shaw as far as I can recall - not the anti-Japanese aspect as that permeates
a lot of Hong Kong films - but the setting of it. There were many earlier
Hong Kong and Chinese films that used this as the backdrop but not sure if
Shaw did.
Ding Yi-shan (Ling Yun) is blowing up trains
and other disruptive activities to thwart the Japanese. They know who he
is but not what he looks like. And they know he is likely in the small town
organizing other attacks. Ding has been ordered to capture a map of Japanese
positions. It is more a McGuffin than anything but Ding collects three other
members (Yang Chi-ching being one) as well as a young boy who acts as a messenger.
Commander Nakajima brings in a Chinese collaborator to find Ding. The collaborator
is Deputy Commander Wang Ling, a tough female wearing jodhpurs and carrying
a riding crop. She is played by Ching Li. But is she really a collaborator
or part of the resistance? The Commander can't decide if Ling Yun is the
resistance leader or not and goes back and forth as Ding plays it cool waiting
for the right moment to steal the map. Not a highly regarded or discussed
film among the Shaw fans, but it is worth a twirl.
