COME DRINK WITH ME
Hong Kong, 1966, 95 minutes, Colour.
Directed by King Hu (as King Chuen).
This Hong Kong film industry in the 1960s was beginning to make its mark in the wider world. This film is something of a precedent and draws on the role of the director, who had also had a long career as an actor. It incorporated Chinese history, martial arts, wars, spies and betrayal, prisons and hostages.
This was before the films of Bruce Lee.
It was instrumental in the cinema tradition of martial arts and spectacles – leading to trends in the 1990s and such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and spectacles from such directors as Zhang Yimou.
By the year 2000, the Hong Kong industry was very popular and many directors worked internationally. The director of this film died in the 1990s.
There is a striking opening with a file of an entourage along the horizon, interrupted by bandits, elaborate fights early in the piece, challenging the authority in the carriage. The chief of the bandits is dressed symbolically in white.
What follows is a story of rebels against authority, the bandits taking the authority in the carriage as a hostage, and making demands against the governor. The film focuses on the headquarters of the rebels and their behaviour.
However, attention turns to a young woman whom people identify as a young man – although the audience can see she is a woman. She arrives at in inn, concealing her identity, yet haughty and demanding a glass of wine. She encounters various people in the inn - and shows her martial arts, defeating all comers, especially a character called Smiling Tiger. There is also a singer with young children whom she encourages.
She turns out to be the daughter of the governor and is in discussions about the release of the hostage. However, she is caught, identified as a famous martial arts warrior – which leads to all kinds of battles, that takes up most of the running time of the film.
The film could be seen as a glimpse of the Hong Kong industry in the middle of the 20th century, its appeal for Chinese audiences – and its move towards international audiences.
