Two legends of Chinese cinema gracing the stage are enough to get anyone buzzing for the show to come, and Tsui’s adaptation film, Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, was no less anticipated than his other fantastical masterpieces. Before the film’s international festival premiere at the 27th Udine Far East Film Festival, legendary wuxia filmmaker Tsui Hark was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by industry mate and friend Tony Leung. The moment was as much a surprise as it was a delight to the packed audience, and set the tone for a celebratory European debut of a long-awaited feature.

As is typical in Chinese cinema, Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants starts in media res. We’re absolutely catapulted into a vivid world struck with war, incorporating real historic emblems with supernatural abilities thrown in. Accuracy is obviously not an emphasis in a story that delves into fantasy; rather, real elements of Mongolian and Chinese culture and history are worked upon to create something visually stunning, such as Princess Huazhang’s styling. The location and set design is just as carefully crafted; the budget was evidently poured out on the detailing of cherry blossom trees of an island you see for no more than thirty seconds. It’s such dedication to the sheer beauty of every scene that distinguishes Chinese cinema from the rest. 

Xiao Zhan takes centre stage as Guo Jing, a powerful lone wolf in pursuit of his past love, Huang Rong (Sabrina Zhuang), who gets tied up in a war between powerful armies. Justice comes to the forefront of his mind, and he must defy all odds to protect those who’ve saved him in the past: “True heroes do not conquer, but care for the land with compassion.” As Guo Jing, Xiao has all the majesty of an actor who’s not at his first rodeo. Xiao, a beloved veteran of wuxia and xianxia cinema and absolute superstar in the East, masterfully presents his evolution as an actor. While he, five years ago, was already recognised as a pro who could cry on command and fight with swords in mid-air on a wire, his matured and nuanced expressions and utter embodiment of any role that lands in his hands put many other actors to shame. 

Huang Rong is also a likeable heroine whose role doesn’t purely revolve around her male counterpart, but when the two finally join hands, it melds into the primary plot seamlessly. The speedy momentum of the plot lasts through the first hour with pretty much no breaks in pace, to provide enough context and grounds for the story to build without it being four hours. This pacing sits between being frustratingly unnecessary for those well-versed in the lore of the story, and enough to provide backstory for those going in head first. That being said, it’s still a daring choice to go in without any knowledge of Jin Yong’s novels: an adaptation that would usually need a couple previous installations of the film series to lay the groundwork for Western audiences to digest. Does that make Western audiences dumber? No. But we’re a bunch that likes our context.

Usually, a two-and-a-half-hour run brings expectations of patient storytelling, and a truly fleshed out progression from beginning to end, with enough closure to satisfy the fussiest of cinemagoers. It’s yet another emblem of the region’s film industry: a chronology that likes to be all over the place. These films expect you to be awake enough to accept a story that is not spoon-fed in cohesive progression; instead, you must dive head-first into that soup and construct the meaning for yourself with each ingredient you detect. The absolute unfriendliness towards those with no prior knowledge of the franchise knocks off a star, but if you’re open-minded, it can be a really fulfilling watch. The war sequences are reminiscent of a Marvel film, and any unanswered questions leave viewers yearning for a deep dive into Jin Yong’s original works. 

Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants is a masterpiece, but it is not newcomer-friendly. Don’t even try to understand this film if you’ve not recently absorbed yourself with some wondrous wuxia chaos. For those of us with an appreciation for deeply nuanced characters and rich cinematography, the feature will be an absolute joyride, and you will fear closing your eyes lest you miss one moment of its majestica. But you have been warned. 

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Written by Maddie Armstrong

Image courtesy of China Film Group

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