Red Trousers: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen (2003/2004)
"Red Trousers" is a really lazy
movie that has nuggets of gold stashed away in mounds
of shit.
The title comes from a traditional
term for Hong Kong stuntmen and the origin of the
term is traced for the viewer at the beginning of
the film. Suffice it to say that the term comes from
the Bejing Opera School and very early in the film
we are treated to a look at some exceptionally talented
young people training there today. Some of the acrobatic
skills they display are amazing and it really draws
us into the exceptional talent and training that Hong
Kong stuntmen must surely undergo as young people
in order to be so adept at what they do as adults.
The film contains many interviews
with modern day stuntmen who continue to work as actors
and filmmakers in the industry in Asia today. The
most recognizable of these is Sammo Hung, one of the
few who has made the transition to relatively well
known star in the West.
The film was made by Robin Shou,
also a stuntman turned actor and director, who speaks
perfect English and who feels quite at ease interviewing
himself on camera for the film. Shou is probably best
known on our shores for his appearance in the "Mortal
Combat" films. Articulate and interesting it is only
Shou as interviewee that we like here. As a director
and actor, he leaves a lot to be desired.
And while Shou's film contains interviews
with a handful of modern directors, it just doesn't
do enough to pay homage to the great artist who have
created the field. There's not enough material here.
Of what there is, one of the best interviews comes
from Chia-Liang Liu (credited here as Sifu Lau Ka
Leung) who has worked in films for over 50 years.
He is the most animated and interesting person in
the film. But his fascinating insights to the history
of the work he has personally experienced simply cannot
be enough to do justice to the film's ideal.
There is some interesting (and sometimes
random) footage from some old Asian films and a few
clips of stunts from modern films but these are used
briefly and only to illustrate certain moments in
the dialogue. The brief, hectic, wham-bam, fast paced
introduction in the beginning of the film, which leads
one to believe that we are about to see some great
clips from action films throughout the running of
"Red Trousers," is just a tease. This isn't a history
of great film stunts nor does it do much to act as
an introduction to the genre.
Instead Shou, being the pretentious
and lazy filmmaker that he is, includes nearly 30
minutes of footage from his lame 2001 film "Lost Time."
(This is the only film Shou has directed besides this
so-called documentary). "Lost Time" is the kind of
crap that the USA network plays at 4 o'clock in the
morning. It's really bad. And while a couple of times
this usage allows us to see some behind the scenes
set-ups and executions of stunts for the film, it
all too often simply acts as filler and fodder providing
much ample time for considering what could have been
in this film, namely a true homage to Hong Kong film's
stunts and stuntmen.
Still, in addition to the numerous
interviews which are quite enlightening and interesting,
there are a few other moments worth seeing. A segment
close to the end of the film with teenage students
who are attending a performance arts school is quite
poignant. It's nearly impossible not to shed a tear
at the pure and emotional honesty that these young
people display in their interviews here. In this scene,
Shou allows us to consider the future of his trade.
It's just a shame that most of these hard-working
and earnest young people will probably end up turning
out crappy martial arts flicks like Shou 10 years
from now.
Don't get me wrong, "Red Trousers"
is worth seeing. But with a 90 minute running time
the viewer only gets about 2/3rds of his money's worth.
At least 30 of these minutes are taken up with long,
arduous footage from Shou's only other film. And this,
in the end, leaves one longing for a remote - or even
an informercial at times.
Notes:
In English and Chinese with subtitles.
Obviously, many of the performers
in "Lost Time" are also interviewed here. Ridley Tsui,
who was the action choreographer on "Lost Time" and
also in "Mortal Combat" with Shou is interviewed and
seen in this film as well.
The film debuted at the Newport
Film Festival in 2003 and is being show at selected
cities in the U.S. in 2004.
