After the commercial success of wuxia-titles such as “Dragon Inn”, it was obvious there was an audience for swordplay and high drama. Many directors jumped on the trend, with many features being truly extraordinary and many rightfully forgotten, with Joseph Kuo's genre entries being from the first category. While having made a career for himself directing drama, Kuo employed this experience and many of the elements used by filmmakers such as King Hu to create his first major venture into wuxia, namely “The Swordsman of All Swordsman”. It is a movie which looks and feels very much like a typical genre entry, but at the same time Kuo's approach to themes such as revenge and honour is quite skillful and certainly deserves a closer look.
The Swordsman of all Swordsmen is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
Traumatised by witnessing the gruesome murder of his parents and the rest of his family, Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng) travels the countryside in search for those men who committed the horrible deed. With his nearly perfect handling of his father's swordsmanship, he has trained to become a formidable opponent for all those in his way of getting his revenge, and especially the five murderers, all of which are masters of their own martial-arts-school. However, his quest for revenge has reached the last three on his list, while at the same time a mysterious swordsman (Chiang Nan) gets in his way, requesting a duel with Ying-jie to decide which school of sword fighting is the best.
On his journey, he also meets a young girl (Shang-guan Ling-feng), who eventually saves his life after one of the duels with his father's assassins results in him being severely wounded. As he recovers and learns about the last master he has to face to fulfil his destiny, she employs him to show mercy and leave the past of vengeance once and for all. With his final challenge approaching, Ying-jie has to decide whether he continues avenging his father, or if he should follow the request of the strange girl.
While “The Swordsman of all Swordsmen” certainly shows traces of King Hu's approach to the genre, there are quite a few aspects which make Joseph Kuo's feature interesting. On the one hand, he certainly shows his talent for the genre, especially its blend of drama and action, with each element working quite well, even though the finale is a bit heavy on the melodrama. The fight scenes are very well-shot and -choreographed, with Lin Tsan-ting's cinematography and Chiang Shu-hua's editing emphasising the rising stakes in each fight, while also adding to the intricate dramaturgy of the ones in the final moments of the feature.
At the same time, Kuo also manages to tell a captivating story. Although the young man seeking revenge is not exactly innovative, Tien Peng's performance as the leading character stresses the way this protagonist is conflicted with what he is doing, that what he does is not in his nature at all. This works quite well in combination with actors like Shang-guan Ling-feng who pleads to the human side of his character, to show mercy and compassion rather than satisfying his thirst for revenge. The beautiful, peaceful scenery offers a welcome change to the rest of the feature, seemingly highlighting the kind of moral conflict the hero is in, thus making him much more interesting in the long run.
In conclusion, “The Swordsman of all Swordsmen” is a must-see for wuxia lovers with director Joseph Kuo proving his prowess within the genre in terms of storytelling and drama.
