The Legend of Drunken Master
Directed by Lau Kar-leung
- action
- comedy
The story
Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-hung is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-hung must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed Cantonese street colour and warm interiors of tea houses and medicine shops, shot with a camera that stays wide and patient so the fighting reads as choreography rather than cutting. The martial arts are the main event: long, unbroken exchanges in open courtyards and market lanes, with bodies tumbling, staggering and rebounding in a loose, rubbery rhythm that turns drunken wobbling into something precise. The score is bright and percussive, with flutes, drums and cymbal hits pushing each bout forward, and the comedy lands through physical slapstick and sharp pacing rather than dialogue. Vibe: playful, lively, warm-hearted and deliberately silly. Violence is frequent and stylised, with plenty of bruising falls, thrown punches and weapon clashes, but nothing gory; it is energetic rather than grim. The emotional thread is a stern father and a rebellious son slowly finding common ground, with the mood staying light even in its tensest moments. Good for a lively Saturday afternoon, a fans-of-action comedy night, or anyone who loves kung fu films that prize showmanship and inventive movement over blood and dread.
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