They are strong stories presented onscreen in a uniquely filmic visual manner. The reason I liked them is the same reason I like Indian films and, I believe, the reason these are the two industries that have as many watchers as Hollywood films.
Popka! Check out Brigette Lin! You would like her Also, way more gender blurring than you might think. But I really REALLY enjoyed watching them. I never got as deep into them as I did Indian films, not even close, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about Chinese/Hong Kong film history, or even that much about Chinese history. I went from classic Wuxia to modern “gun foo” from John Woo to modern rom-coms. I saw The One Armed Swordsman, The Bride With White Hair, The 36th Chamber of the Shaolin, Swordsman and Swordsman II, and my favorite movie, Peking Opera Blues. 8 classics shown on the big screen, different ones every year. When I was in college, one of the local art movie theaters had an annual Hong Kong movie series. It’s not just about the fight scenes and “wire work”, it’s about the stories. These stories are all over Chinese pop culture, movies, but also novels and everything else. Elaborate complex tales with morality and responsibility and relationships and romance and everything. “Wuxia” is the stories about Wu Shu heroes.
“Wu Shu” is the more accurate transliteration of the martial art usually called “Kung Fu”. And nostalgic for me, because it brought me back to my Hong Kong phase in college and reminded me why I loved those movies. Woot! This was such an awesome movie! Totally worth going (masked and cautious) to a movie theater.
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