Tsui Hark on Xanda - News Article

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Tsui Hark: I Live for Pursuit of Trends

Wen Wei Paper, 12 September 2003
Yang Bin

From Peking Opera Blues, New Dragon Inn to Swordsman, Legend of Zu, Tsui Hark used his own movies to build a wuxia kingdom that is warped, yet full of human touch. Recently, Tsui Hark has become obsessed with Sanda (a form of sparring similar to kickboxing, Muay Thai). This sport with straightforward moves has yet been acknowledged by the world, yet Tsui Hark believes that compared to performing wushu, it has better chance of spreading far and wide, inter alia other Chinese martial arts. As such, he has no qualms about hiring a cast comprising professional Sanda fighters for his latest mega-production, Xanda, which is going to be released in Mainland China soon. This reporter took the opportunity during Tsui Hark's arrival in Beijing for promotion this kungfu movie to have an interview with him.

Xanda is an Excellent Experiment

Tsui Hark is inextricably linked to inexorably defining the trend of Hong Kong film industry throughout his over twenty year stint. He is even one who is at the forefront of technology, rather extreme at using special effects, and one who has brought about paradigm shifts in Hong Kong industry. On the other hand, his curiosity and enterprising spirit have also granted him quite a few box lessons of office failures. For example, since 2001's Legend of Zu, he has been lying low. This time, in order to explore the new sport Sanda, he didn't cringe at pulling out all the stops in hiring newcomers with no experiences in acting. His longstanding collaborator, Marco Mak Chi-Sin, has been well-acclimatised to it: "Since I first knew him, the materials for his films have never been shot before, he would introduce a new concept every time. We have to read up to upgrade ourselves. Following him is very difficult."

Compared to your earlier works, Xanda is a minor production. Does this mean you're branching out?

Tsui Hark: I don't classify movies as big or small productions. On the one hand, not every movie needs big budget, on the other hand, I have always wished to do things in a new way, beyond the traditional compass, since movies should be fun. For example, there were many restrictions when shooting Xanda. The whole match was carried out on a square stage with ropes tied at the boundary. How should I convey the thrill, actually, it was very challenging.

How did you overcome the difficulty?

Tsui Hark: Very difficult. Eventually, we used moving camera and rapid editing. But, be it to myself, or to kungfu genre, Xanda is a brand new experiment. Now, Sanda has become part of Chinese wushu culture; as one who loves to shoot martial arts movies, I discovered many interesting stuff that I wasn't aware of.

Photo: Fortissimo Film Sales

For example, wushu has now become a form of performance, everyone makes 360 degree spins, and then fly about here and there. You don't see tend to see Muay Thai, Tae Kwan Do, Karate, all of which are practical combats, in China. Only Sanda is fought with real fists and kicks, it is very different from what the West understands about the wushu that appears in Chinese wuxia movies. If the response to the movie is positive, we will continue to do Xanda 2, Xanda 3.

Without celebrities, wouldn't it be a major trial for Xanda at the box-office?
Tsui Hark: Actually, many of my movies are a disappointment to the audience. To me, this is part of learning. Perhaps, the theme was well-established, and the cast was stronger in my previous works; However, Sanda theme is not fully-fledged, so I'm taking a more conservative approach. However, the movie industry is in need of new talents, we can't let only the younger directors cast newcomers.

Grasping a Movie through Sentiments

Tsui Hark values promises more importantly than money, and is a respected knight-errant in the circle. Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin Qing Hsia, Maggie Cheung, etc have worked with him, leaving behind great legacies on the silver screen.

Your movies give people a very special feeling, why are your movie characters so exceptionally portrayed?
Tsui Hark: I don't really know. Perhaps it stems from sentiments. When I was shooting Swordsman 2, the scriptwriter always felt that something was amiss with the character Asia Invincible, believing that I was nailing Jell-O to the wall. I told him it could be done. After you've seen Brigette Lin, you would know how it was possible. Eventually, they accepted her. What a gifted actor or actress can portray is unlimited, sometimes the aspects, that you can't see in words, would materialise when performed by them. This is the sentimentality of movies.

How did you have such long-standing interests in wuxia?
Tsui Hark: Compared to China, martial arts in other countries lack diversity and oomph factor . It's as if there was a certain Someone who quietly created all these things. But in the recent years, with the advent of Western influence, wushu gives people not an especially orthodox feel, many people are even ashamed of it. On the other hand, the Westerners look up to it as a cultural representation of the Chinese.

What were the inspirations to your first wuxia movie?
Tsui Hark: My first wuxia movie, The Butterfly Murders, was shot in 1979. Later, I wanted to shoot A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). But the top dogs said that there were lots of period drama serials already, and the audiences had grown jaded, yet you're shooting a period movie. You're digging your own grave. I said the problem laid not on its setting, but the approach. At that time, the people needed something romantic. I believed that Liao Zhai could serve as a good material for the movie.

After a while, I wanted to shoot wuxia movies, and at that time, wuxia projects were getting scarce. Jin Yong novels had never been successful when made into movies. His novels contain many characters, the stories are very complicated, and long. After shooting Swordsman (Xiao Ao Jiang Hu, 1990), it suddenly dawned on me that, the 80s were a period of instability, people lived in times where many things were beyond their control, very much similar to the novel. And some of the characters in the novel are very interesting, be them Yue Bu-Qun, Ren Wo-Xing, or Dongfang Bubai (Asia Invincible). These characters reflected the obsessions and a sense of loss we had at that time, thus serving as some form of conduit for blowing off steam.

Swordsman brought about outcries from the masses, was it your intention to choose the novel to mock at that era?
Tsui Hark: When you initiate something, people may ask why are you doing it this way? Actually, you may not even understand the reason yourself. For in a each period, you may develop interests in certain fields, it's not necessarily rational, it's often an impulse, and you may find it very meaningful.

For example, A Better Tomorrow: back then, I thought that people needed sympathy and understanding, for these traits were found wanting at that time when care, friendship and esprit de corps were denied. And that was how A Better Tomorrow was born. Actually, it was only a reminder, to fill the void of people's hearts, to give them a feeling of release. That's the way movies are, driven by sentiments, rather than rationale, and upon further research, we would find that we actually like this.

My wife is My Guide

Tsui Hark's wife See Nan-Sun is not only his business partner, but also his significant other half for over 20 years. The sentimental Tsui Hark was especially at ease on the mention of her name. And behind a successful man is an incredible and supportive wife.

Mind talking about your wife?
Tsui Hark: She is my boss. Generally, she's the one who calls the shots for anything regarding Film Workshop, even I am but her employee.

When was Film Workshop established?
Tsui Hark: In 1974, I just came back from America. I thought that Hong Kong entertainment industry lacked talents and technical proficiency in movie making. So, we started a Film Culture Learning Centre, and selected some actors and actresses who were into movies. I started a lesson called Film Workshop. People said it sounded like a firm's name, why didn't you call it Tsui Hark Film Workshop. I believed that a movie is a movie, since it's a production facility, it better not involve me personally. In 1984, because of certain reasons, I left Film Workshop. See Nan-sun left with me, and that's how we gradually became an item.

Since Film Workshop was founded, it has produced many box-office hits; on the other hand, it has also some box-office failures, was there any pressure during those times?
Tsui Hark: That would have to be viewed from various perspectives. There were times when it appeared that we were going against the trend, but we were actually ahead of it. And I have always wanted to bring out something that is different from others, sometimes to the extent of going against the tide. To me, Master Q 2001, Legend of Zu, their box-office takings weren't ideal, but I employed lots of new filming techniques. Nowadays, many new inventions are being introduced, resulting in new trends that bring about changes to our lives and working environment. This is very interesting. Why don't we make use of new technology to better our lives and our productions? This is how I live - for the pursuit of progression.