10th Old School Kung Fu Festival: The Swordsman of All Swordsman Review

This will be one of many reviews during the 10th Annual Old School Kung Fu Fest: Sword Fighting Heroes Edition by Subway Cinema. To keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

In a classic tale of revenge, 1968’s The Swordsman of All Swordsman follows Tsai-Ying Jie (Tien) who is seeking revenge for the murder of his family. After training for 20 years, Tsai embarks on a journey to hunt down the killers, led by Yun Chung-Chun (Tsao Tsien), who also stole a precious heirloom, the Spirit Chasing Sword, that is wielded by the best swordsman in the entire kingdom. Along the way, Tsai is met by the Black Dragon warrior (Nan Chiang) who assists him in his quest only after getting Tsai to agree to fight him after his journey is finished to determine the one and true master swordsman. As Tsai inches closer to his goal, he befriends, Swallow (Shang-Kuan), a female warrior that is more than willing to help Tsai find Chung-Chun but also harbors a dark secret that is reluctantly revealed before the climactic final battle.

While on its surface, The Swordsman of All Swordsman can appear to be an adaptation of a fairly commonly used narrative crutch for this genre of filmmaking; revenge – but where it truly outshines other similar films is through its concept of forgiveness also becoming a choice when faced with the decision of taking someone’s life. The film attacks this conflict head-on through Tsai’s internal struggle when finally confronting Chung-Chun about his parent’s murder to the extent that while they are engaging in combat they are continually dialoguing about this alternative route their lives could take. Even more symbolic of this is Chung-Chun, now an elderly blind man who is close to death without the help of a sword, tries to speak to Tsai, a much younger man who’s only been motivated by revenge, about how he’s made mistakes earlier in his life that have shaped the path he’s traveled and how it’s not too late for Tsai to avoid similar mistakes.

In a beautifully orchestrated culmination of events, Tsai and Yun Chung-Chun’s battle is a metaphor for revenge vs. mercy that resonates so much louder than the clanging of swords. Even more impressive is how the film poses questions of why a generation would want to pass on hatred to the next and how applying mercy can be one of the hardest decisions to make in one’s life. Not to mention that all of this is accomplished while still populating the film with non-stop action.

The Swordsman of All Swordsman is an incredibly entertaining and thoughtful entry into the Wuxia genre that exceeds all expectations through its intelligent balance of action and internal strife. Featuring interesting characters, and solid action set pieces amid a well-crafted pace, it is a film that should not be missed for fans of this genre.

still courtesy of Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute

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