Forecast Director: Xu Haofeng Screenwriter: Xu Haofeng Genre: Drama / Action / History / Martial Arts / Costume Country/Region: China Language: Mandarin Release Date: 2012-02-24 (Mainland China) Duration: 108 minutes Also Known As: The Sword Identity IMDb Link: http://www.haohao66.com/Single/wokoudezongji/ Synopsis of "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" ··· In the film "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates," after the destruction of the Japanese pirates during the Ming Dynasty, the four major martial arts families in Guancheng declared that anyone who could defeat all four families would be allowed to establish a new sect in the local martial arts world. However, Liang Henlu not only faced rejection from the four families but also became surrounded and hunted because his weapon was a Japanese sword. After a series of conflicts, it was revealed that this sword originally belonged to Qi Jiguang's army, which had fought against the pirates many years ago. Both the sword and its owner played significant roles in the act of mercy shown by supporting character Yu Chenghui when he laid down his sword and spared others. A Chinese film that made it into the Venice Film Festival's Horizon section introduced many people to Xu Haofeng. Prior to this, there were already many legends about this extraordinary person, such as his ability to jump off a building unscathed (though the number of floors is uncertain), and his writings like "The Vanished Martial Arts," which collected his columns on martial arts history from newspapers. Later, during an interview with Wang Yuelun, he mentioned this classmate from the art school preparatory program, describing Xu Haofeng as someone who, even in high school, was always engrossed in studying obscure topics like the "Jinroujing." It was Xu Haofeng's admission to the Beijing Film Academy that inspired him to pursue film studies in the United States. In short, Xu Haofeng is a legendary figure. Before coming to Venice, I had actually seen "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" at the Nanjing Film Studio. Xu Haofeng's image was completely different from what I had imagined. One might assume that martial arts researchers would all have robust physiques and an overwhelming presence, but this legendary figure with exceptional lightness skills appeared remarkably scholarly. Few would associate him with martial arts. Thus, Xu Haofeng has given ordinary readers and audiences a completely new understanding of martial artists, just as the movie "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" does. The story of the film itself is not complex. It mainly tells the story of two remnants of Qi Jiguang's army challenging the four major families to spread the knife techniques they created during real combat in the Ming Dynasty and establish a new sect. Strictly speaking, it is not a traditional martial arts film but rather an action-martial arts film, as the spirit of "chivalry" is absent in this movie. But if you categorize it within the realm of martial arts films, you will find that it is a genre-defying movie. Directors like Chang Cheh, King Hu, Chu Yuan, Zhang Xinyan, Tsui Hark, or even He Ping from mainland China have never made a film quite like this one. There are always coincidences in life. Just this July, Tsui Hark ambitiously promoted the slogan "Scientific Martial Arts, Transforming Martial Arts," but his film ended up being a laughing stock. Two months later, relatively unknown Xu Haofeng accomplished with a small-budget film without any stars what Tsui Hark's over $100 million production "The Grandmaster" failed to achieve. "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" can be considered a miracle, and science was undoubtedly one of the most important driving forces behind this miracle. In previous martial arts films, although there have been segments where a particular skill or weapon is explained in great detail, when we see arrows in "New Dragon Gate Inn" that turn like cruise missiles and track targets, or blood droplets flying around in the sky and always landing on your head, everyone knows that no matter how much explanation is given, it remains unbelievable. Xu Haofeng, however, incorporates all his years of research on martial arts history into the film without reservation. For example, methods like "shadow" and "echo" (determining the timing of an attack based on shadows and sounds) make dozens of experts from the four families powerless against a weak man who doesn't understand martial arts. Here, "science" reveals its true value—our pursuit of scientific martial arts is to achieve superior strength. However, the excessive elaboration on "science" itself affects the narrative flow of the film, making parts of it feel more like a lecture. For instance, the description of the formation invented by Yu Dayou, where each member has a specific role and everything is clear at a glance, hardly needs further explanation. "Science fiction" need not be elaborated, but "transformation" must be discussed extensively. As a new director, Xu Haofeng still has many areas for improvement, but his strength lies in "transformation." "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" abandons the usual revenge, chivalry, patriotism tropes found in martial arts films and instead explores the origins of human desires through the establishment of a new sect. Defeating all opponents naturally serves as the central desire throughout the film. Here, the elder brother's covetousness for the younger brother's position is also a desire, and the guard's wish to capture the Japanese pirate criminal and upgrade from paper armor to iron armor is another form of desire. However, the film's most insightful points lie in the portrayal of a few major characters. The old henchmen, ordered to imprison several Uyghur songstresses in a fiery dungeon, developed immoral thoughts. The leader's line, "We are not bad people, just having evil thoughts," highlights Xu Haofeng's views and understanding of the martial arts world and its practitioners. Whether in the film or in the real martial arts world, there is no character who can truly be considered a complete villain. Even the concubine who committed adultery with the guards has her own valid reasons. Xu Haofeng focuses on interpreting "evil thoughts" as "desires." In his novel "The Taoist Descends the Mountain," the opening describes a pharmacy customer who, due to a broken heart, descends Mount Cui and finds that the bland taste of melon and vegetables cannot eliminate his desires, but instead deepens the internal imbalance of water and fire elements. A similar story occurs in "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates" with the martial arts master, who, after learning of his concubine's infidelity, abandons his home and ascends the mountain in anger, yet returns due to the lingering desire for revenge in his mind. He ultimately devises a scheme that results in mutual injury for both parties involved in the infidelity, and in his delusional imagination, kills the two people he holds grudges against. However, in reality, his last-minute intervention saves them, thoroughly defeating the evil thoughts in his mind. Everyone harbors impure thoughts, and neither practicing martial arts nor cultivating morality can completely eliminate these evil thoughts. Just as the elder in "The Taoist of Gaoshan" says, to eliminate evil thoughts, one must change their lifestyle. Therefore, at the end of the film, the "Japanese pirates" take the Uyghur father and son to graze horses in the mountains. Similarly, although Xu Haofeng may not have become the undisputed grandmaster of the generation, he has at least established a new sect within the "martial arts world" of martial arts films with "The Trail of the Japanese Pirates."