Let me first say that this is not a kung fu/wu xia film for everyone. First, it is a bit of a downer. The movie tells the story of the famous Su Can (or Su Qi-Er) who was later known for developing Drunken Boxing and is best known as Beggar Su. As his nickname implies, he was a beggar, but he wasn't always so. As the movie starts off, we find Su Can (played by Man Cheuk Chiu), as a great general of a Chinese army. I won't go in to the politics and social circumstances that surround that time period because they matter little to the character. What you do need to know is that there is a lot plotting and personal revenge going on and as a result, Su Can finds that he loses everything dear to him.
This is where the other side of the movie, that many may not like or get, takes place. He becomes mentally unstable and begins to drink. As he does so, he finds himself wandering off deep into the forest until he reaches a great cliff. That is where he meets The God of Wu Shu (played by Jay Chou) and an Old Sage. The director never tells us whether he just mad or he actually communing with gods but leaves it up to us, the viewers to decide. Personally I like things this way. Anyhow, he finds that after each day of "training" he return to the home of a local herbalist (Yu played by Michelle Yeoh) who befriends him and helps to heal him.
There are a lot of almost cliched images here, but I didn't seem to mind. To me, it was all really well done and really well polished. Watch for the reappearance of Jay Chou as the God of Wu Shu later in the film, as he is dressed as a foreign soldier, but showing him the final steps of Drunken Boxing during a fight! And finally, watch for one the last performances by the late, great David Carradine as a fight promoter.
Well, yes. I don't tell you everything. That would kill the movie! Watch it and love it for what it is!
