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THE
SWORDSMAN AND THE ENCHANTRESS (1978)
A.K.A.
- Swordsman & Enchantress
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
It's
always difficult to review a film based on Gu Long's novels
due to the fact that I have never read one of them. It is
therefore a challenge to know who to blame for an inadequacies
in the film - is it Chu Yuan's direction or are some of the
novels themselves inherently convoluted. While many of Chu
Yuan's screen adaptations of the writer's work have proved to
be reasonably successful and certainly entertaining, 'The
Swordsman And The Enchantress' never retained my interest
despite the usual weird and wonderful characters.
As
one expects from Gu Long, the storyline focuses on the search
by a number of martial clans to find a fabled object. Here,
the 'Deer Sword' is the said article - a blade infamous for
its sublime craftsmanship and power. While the colourful clans
track down the sword, a young woman called 'Little Lord' (once
again an attractive woman masquerading as an unconvincing man)
is causing mayhem with her ambitions. 'Little Lord' attacks
the clan of Lian and, when her initial plan is put into
action, decides to kidnap his wife. Though she easily beats
the guardians assigned to Lian's wife, 'Little Lord's plan is
foiled by brave wanderer Xiao (Lung) who then takes Mrs. Lian
to safety. Xiao, though, is framed for kidnapping and every
clan is sent after him. Matters take a turn for the worse when
he also begins to develop feelings for Mrs. Lian - much to the
fury of her husband.
To
spend time explaining the plot in too much detail and
therefore find oneself getting bogged down in the expected
twists is, as usual, pointless: most of the enjoyment from
these kind of films is to sit back and absorb the complexities
in your own time. Nevertheless, while I normally find myself
quite happy to suspend disbelief for a Gu Long/Chu Yuan
collaboration, 'The Swordsman And The Enchantress' is a real
test of my patience. The double-crosses are initially
interesting, but the frequency of them - alongside the
annoying trend of fights starting out of simple
misunderstandings - means that this is certainly a lesser
production.
The
saving grace of the film is again the fine eye for detail that
Chu Yuan exhibits. Even his lesser works boast above-average
set-design and an eye for the composition of the frame that
always helped him stand out from his contemporaries. While
some may be alienated by the gloriously colourful, yet
studio-bound sets, it is their striking beauty that has often
drawn me to even the most convoluted of Chu Yuan's efforts.
That refinement offers some compensation for a film that is
maddening and doesn't have the option of superior fight action
to fall back on. Importantly, the sumptuous world that Chu
Yuan creates can only offer a certain amount of relief from
the fact that the substance of the film is severely lacking.
'The
Swordsman And The Enchantress' has more weaknesses than it can
cope with, but there is one twist that really left my mouth
agasp for its sheer incredulity. Without giving too much away,
the 'Toy Land' that the hero encounters later on in the
duration sets up one of the most bizarre villainous schemes
ever conceived. Making an 'Austin Powers' film look tame in
comparison, the twist reminded me of why many newcomers to
Hong Kong cinema are reluctant to watch a swordplay film.
Whether writer or director are to blame for moments like this
is debatable; what isn't debatable is that this production
doesn't offer many reasons to purchase the DVD.
Rating:
 
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