The Forbidden City: A Stunning Martial Arts Film

God bless international cinema, truly. Within a month, fans of action have seen the return of action legend Yuen Woo-Ping with ‘Blades of the Guardians‘, and now an Italian genre blender is showcasing terrific martial arts action and spirit while evoking the tone of Golden Harvest films. What a time to be alive. The Forbidden City features fight choreography from accredited fight choreographers Trayan Milenov-Troy of AlphaStunt and Emiliano Novelli of EA Stunts, and a central performance that showcases all the brilliant work put into each action sequence in the film. Actress/Stuntwoman Liu Yaxi breaks out in the co-lead role with a performance that’d make one think she has been doing this her whole career (yet it is only her second acting credit). As a film, The Forbidden City is quite the shocking package. What starts as a Korean style revenge film makes way for a HK-inspired martial arts, romance, and family drama, which is all parts earnest and some parts overly ambitious. That being said, director Gabriele Mainetti makes the most of his opportunity, packing the film with all the earnest emotion and genre cues that it can handle, leading to the film feeling a little worn out in its final moments as it moves past what should be its conclusive point.

The film leads with Mei (Yaxi) on a rampage through a brothel looking for her sister, and it is here where audiences are given their first chance to be blown away by the sensational action sequences as Mei breaks thugs’ backs over tires, and fights others with broken CD’s. The film throws so much at you in those opening ten minutes, it’s hard not to question whether it can sustain such a pace. Mei’s rampage leads her out of the brothel and spills into the streets of Italy, where she finds herself in a local restaurant looking for a man named Alfredo. Mei’s frenzied push through the Italian underworld introduces her to Marcello (Borello), a stressed chef trying to provide for his family following the disappearance of his father. The two become intertwined in each other’s search for the truth, colliding with both the Italian and Chinese underground alike as they pursue truth and justice.

Mainetti’s film is nothing if not ambitious, as it attempts to juggle many different genre tones at once. While not every tone works and some plot elements feel undercooked, what Mainetti accomplishes with The Forbidden City is wildly impressive. The film anchors plenty of its comedy in the character of Annibale (Marco Giallini), a mobster who oversees the area of Italy where the film takes place, making his influence known and serving as a sort of father figure to Marcelo. Giallini’s performance as Annibale serves as a consistent tonal grounding point in the film. Bringing its high emotion and brutal violence down with some light comedy to help balance things out, a choice that works far more often than not, building Annibale to become arguably the film’s most interesting character. The relationship between Annibale and Marcello further entrenches this film’s themes around familial responsibility and building a life after death, which leads to some touching and genuine moments of emotion (offset by some other moments which don’t quite work). Mainetti’s film truly has it all.

Structurally, The Forbidden City peppers its action throughout in a way that will keep audiences on their toes, waiting for the shoe to drop. While it is effective, it would suffocate without the strong supporting cast and narrative holding the film up. While not perfect, it offers up a fun and admirable kind of film that just don’t get made anymore. Borrowing from action classics, it endows its characters with a distinct quirk and functions within the plot, which only serves to strengthen the film. It does feature a bit of a lull in the second act while waiting for the next great action set piece, but the time in between is never dull, due to all the aforementioned strengths in the film’s B & C plots.

In the end, Mainetti’s film is a weird one. It is tonally all over the place, trying to juggle about 4-5 distinct genres, yet it all seems to work and has me yearning for more. Anchored by not just its action but the strong moments in between, The Forbidden City stands as one of the more fascinating films of the year, one that comes so close to living up to its ambition, yet is still a great time, with some of the best action one will see all year.

still courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

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Brad Simon

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