Kung Fu Goes Virginal in The Sword Identity

For those who tire of the formulaic martial arts aesthetic that dominates in everything from Chinese epics to the likes of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes franchise, this indie film with a purist attitude will be a breath of fresh air. (And a very nerdy one, at that.) Xu Haofeng, whose credentials include martial arts training, a major in film directing and several successful novels under his belt, released his directorial debut, The Sword Identity, last year. (He's also the scriptwriter for Wong Karwai's highly-anticipated Ip Man biopic, The Grandmasters.)

In this film, the story unfolds around a fighter trying to open a new martial arts school to keep his master's legacy alive, but who faces resistance from the old guard because they mistake his weapon for a Japanese katana – a big no-no in that day. The film was praised for its directorial precision, character development and no-nonsense aesthetic after its showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, and now BC MOMA's hooking us up with a Beijing premiere (tonight, Feb 10) and followup screening Feb 18. But first, we chat with the director to plumb the depths of his martial arts cred ...

From martial arts novels to your first film. How did you make the jump?
I majored in movie directing at university. So going from novel writing to movie directing was not a plan so much as it was my fate. During the first two years after graduating, I wrote a script in an effort to get funding so I could direct a film, but it went nowhere. I couldn’t bear the thought of the script wasting away (since scripts aren’t really a “finished” form in themselves), so I decided to make it into a novel.
Later on, I just started writing novels, imagining it would be easier to gain credibility with potential investors if I had my work in a literary magazine under my arm. I didn’t start off writing martial arts novels, but pure literature, novellas. The usual feedback I got was that they had a very strong cinematic sense. My professor at the Beijing Film Academy said, “We taught you that.”
I’ve wanted to be a movie director for years now. If the desire was never realized, my youth would have been wasted. I’ve met many a grey-haired alumni of the Beijing Film Academy Directing Department who said, “It’s a pity, I never directed a single movie.”

For this film, you decided to eschew the fancy visual effects that many wuxia films use. Why?
My martial arts background is based in the wushu clubs in the northern part of China during the Republican era. It focuses less on aesthetic and more on a certain kind of thrust technique. My knowledge points to this style, which points to a different look for the film. AlsoThe characters in my story don’t have superpowers. But they do have inner conflict. If I placed too much emphasis on the beauty of their movements, it would seem mismatched. So we’re not going for beauty so much as realism, even if it looks clumsier.



How do you think audiences will respond?
Since the film started screening, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback. Some people don’t like my camera work, saying it strips away the spectacularness you get from my novels. (Although really, my novels are quite restrained.) Those who are used to Hong Kong-style movies will likely be disappointed. But when the movie was shown in Toronto, a lady brushed by me in the darkness and said, "If my father were still alive, he would really like your movie." Now I always wonder who her father was.

One of the running jokes of your film features a dancing girl who uses a single pole to defeat martial artists one by one. How is she able to do this?
These types of unbelievable stories happened every day at the martial arts clubs back in the Republican era. Without them, you couldn’t keep a martial arts club going. In that world this type of thing was called "menzi" (traps), and they were cleverly designed. A club would post a challenge: “Strike faster than this guy.” But it would be set up so that you most certainly couldn’t strike faster, because when they counted off he’d move on “one” while you were told to move on “three.” And you’d never notice that slight difference. So it was very common for martial arts masters to be defeated by green hands ...
But my point wasn’t to demonstrate these traps in my movies. I wanted to show the absurdity of life. "One person with no martial arts skills defeats all the masters." This can provoke all sorts of thinking, which is my point. That’s why I don’t explain too much about the tricks themselves – to avoid distracting the audience.

[We'll just have to watch to figure that out, then. -Ed.]


So what’s your own martial arts background?
When I practiced martial arts while I was in junior high school, but stopped later because my master left. We hadn’t seen each other for ten years when I found him before he died and helped collect his memoirs. I guess we could say I’m helping carry on the culture of his martial arts, even if I didn’t carry on the martial art itself.



I've always wondered if trained martial artists enjoy martial arts movies on a whole 'nother level. What was your favorite from 2011? Are there any you're looking forward to in 2012?
I was pleasantly surprised by the scene in which Liu Dehua (aka Andy Lau) performed mind-and-will boxing in New Shaolin because that style is one of the treasures of the Shaolin Temple, but in Republican China it was deemed practical but ugly. The xingyiquan form that I learned was a revamped version of that. My master was ashamed to practice it and ultimately discarded the expressive technique. Yet for this style to be in a movie means people’s perceptions are changing. In 2012, I’m looking forward to The Grand Master, In the Qing Dynasty, and Outrage II.

Can you tell us your favorite scene from The Sword Identity?
My favorite scene comes when Qie Lao is saying goodbye to Qiu Dongyue. In Chinese culture, “saying farewell” is a colorful topic, and there are many poems and songs about it. There is a saying in Chinese, “Make light of life and death, but make much of parting ways." Death does not matter, but friends will be particularly sad when parting from each other – this is a unique aspect of Chinese culture. When saying goodbye, people should state clearly their ambitions and their final resting place. I feel I captured this sentiment with my lens in just ten easy steps. 



What are you working on next?
I just finished shooting my second martial arts film, The Arrow's Decision. It’s about a Chinese archer and explores philosophies of bows and arrows within Chinese culture. In China the bow is not just a lethal weapon. It's been a tool for developing social etiquette and training for over two millennia. To us, the bow is a metaphor for human nature. We can use it to correct our hearts.

Catch the martial art purity of The Sword Identity at BC MOMA on Feb 10 and 18. Director Q+A to follow (Feb 10 only).

Photo: Twitchfilm.com