Chan Sing | Through the Shattered Lens

Also known as Ninja War Lord, 1973’s Rage of Wind takes place during the Japanese occupation of China during the Second World War.

A Chinese fishing village is controlled by the ruthless Taka (Yasuaki Kurata), who terrorizes the town with his Hawaiian-shirt wearing henchmen and who deals with dissent by hanging people in the town square and then refusing to allow their loved ones to take down the bodies. When boxer Chan Kwong (Chan Sing) returns to the village after pursuing a successful fighting career in the United States, the village rejoices. Finally, there is someone who can stand up to Taka! And the villages needs help because Taka has just instituted a new fishing tax!

Oh, Taka, you fool! Don’t you realize that raising taxes never solves anything? I realize that this film is taking place at a time when Milton Friedman was still working for the government and also long before the Laffer Curve was drawn on that napkin but still, raising taxes is always the last refuge of the unimaginative. When the people in the village express their displeasure at having to pay more in taxes, Taka decides to seize their boats. Hey, Taka, you dumbass commie — how are they going to make the money to pay your taxes if they don’t have their boats!? Fortunately, Chan Kwong isn’t going to let the taxman get away with this.

(It’s interesting that this film features a Chinese hero fighting on the side of free enterprise.)

Here’s a few things that I liked about Rage of Wind.

First of all, it didn’t waste anytime getting to the good stuff. The film’s first fight broke out within the first five minutes of its running time and, from that moment on, people were either fighting or preparing to fight. This film didn’t feature any slow spots. The fights were exciting to watch and, even more importantly, they distracted the viewer from asking too many questions about the plot. At times, it felt like everyone in the film would have been well-served to just stop fighting and negotiate but that wouldn’t have been as much fun to watch.

Second, Taka wore a cape. His henchmen may have dressed like tourists in Hawaii but Take wore a red cape! And what’s even more impressive is that Taka totally pulled off the look. Seriously, if someone can wear a cape and not look like an idiot, that’s when you know that person is a total badass.

Third, both the bad guys and the good guys got their own annoying sidekick. The bad sidekick was constantly popping up and laughing. The good sidekick had no teeth. Both sidekicks died, which is an example of this film giving the viewers what they want.

Fourth, the musical score was made up of stolen riffs from Pink Floyd and the Theme From Shaft. (I didn’t recognize the Pink Floyd riffs but everyone that I was watching the film with was like, “How did they get Pink Floyd!?”) Apparently, the film “borrowed” the music without paying. I love the shamelessness of old school Hong Kong cinema.

Fifth, the final fight between Taka and Chan Kwong is absolutely brutal! Seriously, when you’re watching a film about people who are incapable of settling their conflicts through talking, this is exactly the type of fight you want to see.

Finally, once again, all of the conflict could have been avoided if they hadn’t tried to tax everyone to death! I love films that are anti-taxation. Watching a double feature of Rage of Wind and Harry’s War might become my new Tax Day tradition!

A Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production that was first released in 1984, Shanghai 13 takes place during the early days of World War II in Asia, when the conflict was primarily viewed as being between Japan and China. With the help of a thief named Black Hat (Jimmy Wang Yu), a low-level but patriotic Shanghai bureaucrat named Mr. Gao (Chiang Ming) steals a report that details the collaboration between Japan and a puppet regime that has been installed in Northern China. Mr. Gao hopes to take the documents to Hong Kong, where he will be able to safely publish them and reveal just how corrupt the Chinese collaborators are. Needless to say, the collaborators would rather this not happen and they are determined to assassinate Mr. Gao before he boards the last boat to Hong Kong.

Fortunately, Mr. Gao is not alone. The 13 Rascals have been called in to protect Mr. Gao. Who are the 13 Rascals? They are a collection of talented marital artists and they are all patriots, determined to reveal the truth about what is happening in Northern China. The 13 Rascals are played by an ensemble of Hong Kong and Taiwanese film veterans. One appears after another, each getting their chance to show off what they can do while defending Mr. Gao. Many of the rascals lose their lives to protect Mr. Gao but that seems to be the point of the film. No sacrifice is too much when its done to protect the honor of one’s country.

To really understand what’s going on with Shanghai 13, it probably helps to know a bit about not only the Second Sino-Japanese War and the subsequent chain of events that led to the Republic of China relocating its central government to Taiwan. My knowledge of these events is pretty much Wikipedia-level and I’m not going to present myself as being an expert. That said, it’s pretty obvious that Mr. Gao, who is forced to leave his home city by a corrupt and ruthless government, is meant to serve as a stand-in for both Taiwan and Hong Kong (or, at least, Hong Kong before it was transferred to Chinese control). Just as the Rascals will sacrifice their lives to protect Mr. Gao, they would do the same for Taiwan and Hong Kong. The implication, of course, is that the audience should do the same.

Fortunately, if international politics are not your thing, Shanghai 13 can also be enjoyed as just a non-stop action film. Admittedly, the film does get off to a bit of a slow start. (If you’ve ever wanted to see every little detail of how to crack a safe, this is the film for you.) Once the fighting begins, it’s pretty much nonstop and more than a little bloody. Faces are kicked. Bones are shattered. Clawed gloves are worn. One man carries a killer fan and laughs whenever anyone tries to remove it from his hands. The film is full of Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars, all of whom get their chance to show off their moves and the majority of whom also get a dramatic death scene. One man gets impaled a pole and still announces that he would rather die with honor than surrender. (And, needless to say, he drops dead shortly afterwards.) There’s enough slow motion to keep any slo mo of doom enthusiast happy. The final battle takes place in a ship yard and features combatants jumping on top of shipping crates. It’s exciting and weird.

Throughout it all, Mr. Gao stands in the background and watches. Mr. Gao is not a fighter and he can only watch while everyone else in the movie sacrifices their lives so that Mr. Gao can reveal the truth about China’s puppet regime. If this was an American film, I’m sure that the last-standing hero would probably get angry with Mr. Gao, much as Snake Plissken did with the President in Escape From New York. But in Shanghai 13, all that matters is that Mr. Gao is a patriot. He’s a man trying to protect his nation from a corrupt government and, for that reason, 13 people are willing to risk their lives to protect him. We could use more people like the 13 Rascals.