Fridae

Watching Seven Swords is like having a butt-plug stuffed
up your rear — you get the occasional thrill, but such menial
satisfaction goes with a whole load of pain. And you can hardly
cringe it out. Truth is, I tried, and I mean really tried, to like
this film.

Set in the Qing Dynasty, seven swordsmen wage a bloody battle with
an oppressive regime that outlaws all practices of martial arts.

This is a wuxia film, and for those who are unaware of
the term, it basically means that there will be a whole load of
sword-fighting in between philosophical reveries. And coming from
Tsui Hark, who cuts a seminal figure in the Hong Kong New Wave,
Seven Swords is unpardonably bad.

I'm talking about plot coherence here: the film ties itself up
into a dead knot of over-exposition, with too many subplots and
too little dexterity in handling them. To be fair, the original
cut runs about four hours, which is obviously too long for cinematic
release. Hence, the haphazard and rushed editing of the version
one sees on screen. That aside, the martial arts sequences are muscular
and taut, and the cinematography is simply breathtaking.

I guess one just have to wait for the DVD release to truly see
Seven Swords in its full glory, and to say anything more
about the film now would be unpardonable as well. For the time being?
well, at least Duncan Lai is cute, and emmm?Charlie Yeung is gorgeous.