A martial arts heist movie? You have my attention! Check out the official announcement for the restoration of RAINING IN THE MOUNTAINS coming to virtual theater soon!
RAINING IN THE MOUNTAIN
FROM KING HU, THE LEGENDARY DIRECTOR OF A TOUCH OF ZEN, COMES A NEW RESTORATION OF HIS EPIC MARTIAL ARTS HEIST MOVIE
RAINING IN THE MOUNTAIN
120 min. | New Restoration
A Film Movement Release | Director: King Hu
Screenplay: King Hu
Starring Hsu Feng, Yueh Sun, Chun Shih
A Film Movement Classics Release
Restored by Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
SYNOPSIS
In a remote monastery in 16th century (Ming Dynasty) China, corrupt monks conspire against each other for that plum job – Head Monk – and control of the ultimate MacGuffin: a crumbling Buddhist scroll. And with the arrival of a general and a wealthy merchant – each with their own stealthy thieves darting through the compound’s corridors – the carefully-choreographed action begins, highlighted by a balletic pursuit by a posse of brightly-garbed women. One of two films (with Legend of the Mountain) made in South Korea by Wuxia (tales of martial arts superheroes) master King Hu – both starring Taiwan/Hong Kong female super-star Hsu Feng (A Touch of Zen), here as the cunning “White Fox.”
“Stylized gesture, pantomime humor, flurries of color and fighting: King Hu’s tale of a power struggle in a Ming dynasty monastery has all the abrupt
magic of a fairy story, with its villains, good guys, and secret treasure.”
— Chris Auty, Time Out (London)
“[Blends] heist movie and spiritual parable… Hu contrasts the serene surrounding landscape with the labyrinthine monastery where the dubious efforts of the thieves play out. One of Hu’s lighter undertakings, but
it’s also brimming with his ruminations on man’s capacity for
corruption and redemption.”
— John Berra, BFI
“Synthesizing innovations from pan-Asian action filmmaking,
Hu created the new gold standard.”
— Nick Pinkerton, Artforum
