Adapted from the first novel of Gu Long's “Xiao Li Fei Dao” (“Little Li Flying Dagger”) a wuxia series which consisted of five novels, “Duo Qing Lian Ke Wu Qing Jian” (“The Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword”) published in 1968, narrates the adventure of swordsman Li Xun Huan and his trademark use of daggers hidden in his fan. This Shaw Brothers production was a success and went on to become one of their highest grossing films ever.
Renowned and proud swordsman Li Xun Huan (Ti Lung) has been wandering the country side with his loyal servant Chuan Jia (Fan Mei Sheng) for ten years after retiring from the martial arts community, after willingly giving up the woman he loves to his savior. But he is happy with his simple life and finds comfort in drinking wine. However, news of the reappearance of the “Plum Blossom Bandit” has prompted him to return to the community in order to seek him out. Before long, he finds himself involved in a battle to acquire the highly prized “Gold Threaded Vest” and worst still, after being unjustly labeled as the elusive “Plum Blossom Bandit” and framed for murder, every clan in Wulin now wants him dead.
From the opening shots of a snow covered landscape, viewers are in for a visual treat as Chor Yuen further makes use of frozen rivers, snowcapped mountains and old buildings to tell his story. Equally impressive are his displays of those amazing highly detailed indoor sets which look lived-in and blend perfectly with the real outdoor locations. Chor certainly knows how to make full use of Shaw's indoor sets with the use of flowers, fog, ponds, and fallen fake trees and so on to create his magical world. Compared to other Shaw wuxia films made during that time, the martial world Chor creates here sure looks beautiful, epic and sprawling, even though it is a fairly treacherous place as always.
Action wise, there are plenty of grounded and straight forward sword fights choreographed by Tang Chia and Huang Pei Chih but there is hardly any display of inner energy. Filmed in true Chor fashion, there are lots of long shots with objects like out of focus foliage or silk screen panels slightly blocking the combatants but never hiding them from sight. This enables the audience to take in the action which is both complex and fluid and blends in perfectly with the nature of the story. However, the falling and somersaulting performed during the fights become repetitive after a while and seem unnecessary.
The tall and handsome Ti Lung is perfect as Li Xun Huan, the flawed but sentimental swordsman with extreme principles and dignity. Put to good use here is his ability to show a range of emotions, be it loneliness, sadness, happiness or menace. Moreover, his character needs to display the inner turmoil that is haunting him and Ti has no problem expressing it. He is also great with all the action sequences besides looking elegant and confident.
Equally impressive is Derek Yee who portrays the lonely drifter Ah Fei, an upright and skilled fighter with a short sword who befriends Li. Both men share a similar set of values and together they make a great pair of righteous heroes. In contrast, Yueh Hua plays Long Xiao Yun, the sworn brother of Li, a scheming character who looks friendly but hides a very dark secret, the kind of role in which he excels in. The pretty Ching Li has a decent role as Lin Xian Er who is hell bent on seeking revenge for her father's death.
The strong supporting performance from Fan Mei Sheng who plays Li's royal servant Chuan Jia is another stand out. Wielding a heavy staff with a dragon head motif, Shaw's veteran Ku Feng is a delight and immensely memorable as Zhao Zheng Yi. Norman Chu also appears briefly as Iron Flute, a killer hired to kill Li. In any case, all these well-known actors bring a bit of a welcoming personal touch to the mix.
Chor has given the audiences yet another visually stunning magical martial world full of eccentric characters and a drama with an intriguing plot. “The Sentimental Swordsman” is indeed a very well-crafted and mature wuxia film with amazing action, vey stylish and highly entertaining.
