Films at the Gate 2008
The Films
MY YOUNG AUNTIE (1981)
124 minutes
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008, 7:30 PM
A kung fu smackdown and wacky comedy, MY YOUNG AUNTIE showcases Kara Hui as a young woman who enters a marriage of convenience with an elderly benefactor to prevent his estate from being seized. When she seeks out the rightful heirs, they are forced by Chinese convention to treat her as their “auntie’ and social superior. Directed by Lau Kar-leung. Starring Kara Hui Ying-hung and Lau Kar-leung. (Special thanks to Bey Logan, Vice-president of Asian Acquisitions and Co-production at The Weinstein Company, for permitting the screening of the Dragon Dynasty DVDs My Young Auntie, Police Story, and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.)
POLICE STORY (1986) 100 minutes
Thurday, Sept. 4, 2008, 7:30 PM
Jackie Chan’s first big contemporary hit set a new standard for modern action films. Jackie is a heroic cop framed by a mobster and forced to take revenge. The film opens with a car chase through a shanty town in which Chan stops a double decker bus with his revolver. Directed by Jackie Chan. Starring Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung.
RED HEROINE/LIVE MUSIC SOUNDTRACK DEVIL MUSIC ENSEMBLE (1929) 94 minutes.
Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, 7:30 PM
This silent film from 1929 is the oldest complete swordplay (wuxia) film in existence. It’s also a good example of the classic “nu xia” or “female knight” plot, as the young heroine learns to fight the bandits who have taken over her town. Directed by Wen Yimin. Starring Fan Xuepeng and Xu Guohui. A live music soundtrack performed by Devil Music Ensemble.
THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (1978) 119 minutes.
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, 7:30 PM
When people talk about old school kung fu movies—they mean this one. Also known as MASTER KILLER, from its dubbed-in-English 1980s video release. Gordon Liu (KILL BILL) plays San Te, a Shaolin monk who masters the 35 training chambers of Shaolin kung fu and persuades the monastery to open a 36th chamber in order to train lay students to fight the oppressive Qing government (thereby setting up a scenario played out in countless kung fu films). Directed by Lau Kar-leung. Starring Gordon Liu.
Iron Monkey (1993)
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008, 7:30 PM
A kung fu comedy about the childhood of one of China’s most famous martial arts heroes, this film features Boston’s Donnie Yen. The citizens of a small Chinese town suffer from failed crops and corrupt officials. Their salvation comes in the form of a Robin Hood figure, the Iron Monkey, who steals from the rich to give to poor. When martial arts master Wong Kay-ying arrives, his martial arts skills lead local lawmen to suspect that he may be the masked outlaw. Wong’s son, Wong Fei-hung, is caught in the line of fire as he fights to clear his name. In the end, Wong and the Iron Monkey must join forces to face the real villain of the piece.
Sunday’s film was preceded by a 10 minute performance by Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association and Rick Wong’s Chinese Martial Arts.
2008 Links
In the News:
Photos on Flickr.
Here’s a look at our final evening: a time-lapse video showing the vacant lot transformed into a movie theater (and then back again).
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