Kathmandu

William Ma said, “He’s iconic, he’s brilliant, he’s seminal to Asia…” I have known William for almost 30years and never known him to be a person who exaggerates. He was talking about the great Hong Kong-Hollywood find Stephen Chow who has made a whole library of movies, but whose Shaolin Soccer and his new ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ are making him known in the West.

The plot lines of a Stephen Chow movie are slender but he’s been described as a “Movie-Kinetics genius,” because scene after hilarious scene is a take off on Western films, cartoons, comics, all put together with unfettered brilliance. Says Bret Fetzer, “A rundown slum has been poor but peaceful until a bunch of blacksuited gangsters called the Axe Gang show up to cause trouble-and discover that, hidden among the humble poor, are three Kung Fu masters trying to live an ordinary life. But after these martial artists repulse the gang with their flying fists and feet, the gang leader hires a pair of assassins, whose arrival leads to the unveiling of more secrets, until both the screen and the audience are dizzy with hyperbolic fight artistry (choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, who also choreographed ‘The Matrix’). Weaving through this escalating fury is a loudmouthed loser (writer/director/Stephen Chow) who suddenly finds himself having to live up to his bragging.”

On a recent tour of America Stephen Chow said, “I am so surprised by the great response from western audiences. I didn’t really expect that they would love the movie that much. I mean, I thought it might be accepted by different audiences in different countries, this is better than I expected.” ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ took three years to complete and is the first time that Stephan Chow used computer graphics. The movie is heavy on action and at times it’s like a dance movie. In Asia the film made USD 100 million and Stephen has his eye on the West. He says “It’s very important for us, not only me as a filmmaker. We all dream about, we can make film to have a global market.”

Suddenly everyone is talking about ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ and Stephen Chow. Says Taboo from the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas, “It inspires people to understand about directors from overseas. You have the Quentin Tarantinos and you have your Scorceses here, that’s all we know. Now that a cat from overseas is coming in and directing and showing us that there’s somebody out there that’s as creative and powerful as these guys, is an inspiration to all of us, not just as Americans, but as human beings.” The last word goes to British critic Tom Brook who says, “I can’t really find enough good things to say about “ Kung Fu Hustle’- it’s exhilarating and it has tremendous visual flair. The combined influences at work in the picture make it a fresh, highly original hybrid. The action and special effects are strong but they’re at the service of some spectacular and funny characters, such as the Landlady with her lion’s roar, and the beast who transforms himself into giant toad.” Quentin Tarantino borrowed from the East to make unforgettable films. With ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ Stephen Chow borrows from the East, the West and from the mind of Stephen Chow to give us a visually stunning furiously funny, fast paced masterpiece. Go and see it at once. And thank William Ma.