The Shaolin Temple (1982)

[benwfelt]

Shaolin Temple (1982) is a classic kung fu movie filmed in the actual
heartland of Shaolin kung fu in rural mainland China and stars a
teenage Jet Li in his first movie appearance. As the movie begins, the
audience is told that the story is about how 13 Shaolin monks saved
the Ting Emporer but, in reality, the story is about a young man's
quest for revenge against the man who killed his father. Pretty
predictable stuff and a bit of a let down for the thoughtful side of
me.

The “really great kung fu action” side of me, however, was more than
satisfied. At the time the film was made, Jet Li was one of the most
talented martial artists in the world. He had just wrapped up a wushu
career in which he won something like 15 gold medals in 5 years. When
he fights in the movie, you can bet you're watching the best China had
to offer. He not only fights with his hands but with a broadsword,
spear, staff, and other weapons and you can tell that he isn't just an
actor who picked these things up a few months before filming. And he's
not the only fantastic martial artist in the film. One of the great
things about Shaolin Temple is that they not only got Jet Li, they
also rounded up the rest of the top talent from the Chinese wushu
world to play the other 13 monks. Even the older fighters in the movie
are mostly wushu coaches. The fighting is top-of-the-line, no wires,
authentic stuff. The training sequences are great too (although they
can be a little too showcase-ish). Watch out for the peak-over-the-
wall training, four seasons training, the river fight, and the attack
at the Shaolin monastery. Quite satisfying.

The scenery--waterfalls, rivers, mountains, and the Pagoda Forrest
cemetery--were all inspiring. I found myself imaging what it might
look like had the movie been made 20 years later by someone like Zhang
Yimou (think "House of Flying Daggers"). In any case, it looked
great.

Shaolin Temple was the first blockbuster kung fu movie to come out of
mainland China. During China's Cultural Revolution (1966-76), a huge
part of China's movie-making talent left for Hong Kong rather than be
a part of the propaganda machine. Besides the scarcity of talent,
traditional kung fu and Buddhism suffered during The Cultural
Revolution (which was determined to stamp out the “four olds”: old
customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas). The fact that a
bunch of Hong Kong folks were allowed to shoot this film in China only
a couple years after the official end of the Cultural Revolution says
a lot about China's efforts to open back up to the world.

I can't decide how to react to the film's sometimes disrespectful
treatment of the Shaolin monks who often act quite silly, justify
breaking their Temple's rules, drink wine, and even eat dog meat (as
long as Buddha is in their heart!). Then there's the abbot who is
portrayed as somewhat of a loser for wanting to protect the
traditional values of the Temple. It's a bit offensive but at the same
time, a bunch of pious monks probably wouldn't have been as
entertaining. Plus, all these changes really point to the most serious
change at the Temple: the monks' attitude toward the use of force.
They go from “non-violence toward all sentient life” to “killing for
justice when necessary”. A devout Buddhist would wince at the idea but
it's a major theme of the movie (take a look at the opening and
closing scenes) and shows how Shaolin kung fu spread to the outside
world. You can't just discard that. So, rather than dwelling on the
disrespect (a negative sentiment left over from The Cultural
Revolution?), I think I'll take a more positive view: that the writers
were just using story-telling devices to point out changes within
Shaolin that led to its spread throughout the world.

The highly-skilled cast and authentic action make this a great,
landmark film. It brought quality kung fu cinema to mainland China and
launched Jet Li into stardom. If you want to see how Jet Li became a
“super” star, I'm told you should watch his other two Shaolin movies
and the “Once Upon a Time in China” series. I can't wait to get my
hands on those gems.

~Ben