“100 Yards” Theatrical Poster
Director: Xu Haofeng
Co-director: Xu Junfeng
Cast: Jacky Heung, Andy On, Bea Hayden Kuo, Li Yuan, Shiyi Tang, Kevin Lee, Brono Bajtala
Running Time: 109 min.
By Paul Bramhall
There’s a strong argument to be had for Xu Haofeng being the greatest kung-fu cinema director of the 21st century. When Haofeng made his directorial debut with The Sword Identity in 2012 he was billed as the writer of Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster (which ironically at the time was yet to be released), however such was the strength of his debut that he was soon recognized as an established director in his own right. Typically blending themes based on the rules that govern the martial arts world, and imbuing them with a sense of everyday reality, Haofeng’s ability to create works that feel grounded yet poetic has become one of his defining traits.
In modern day China though dealing with the world the wuxia genre operates in comes with its own risks, with it by nature having an element of the political in its tales of rival clans and individualistic aspirations. With the shakeups that took place in the latter 2010’s around how productions have to pass the censorship board, and President Xi Jinping’s own speech that declared the film industry should make “patriotism the main theme of literary and artistic Continue reading
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