Martial arts giants unite in major production
Martial arts fans have waited for this for a long time — finally, Sammo Hung from Hong Kong, and Zhao Wenzhuo, who was born on the Chinese mainland and is also known as Vincent Chiu, will appear together on the silver screen.
They have joined forces for God of War, which is about two Ming Dynasty (13681644) generals fighting the wokou (Japanese pirates) in the 16th century.
The movie will hit the country’s big screens on May 27.
The wokou were ethnically mixed pirates who were active on the Korean Peninsula and in China at that time.
Hung, 65, plays Yu Dayou, and the 45-year-old Zhao takes the role of Qi Jiguang. The two figures lead Chinese soldiers and civilians to safeguard their homeland.
Speaking about the movie at a recent promotion event in Beijing, Zhao says: “Just like Qi admired the more senior Yu, I also have respect for Hung. His martial arts are outstanding, and I have so much to learn from him.”
Qi’s army is often referred to by historians as an ancient Chinese “special operations forces” equipped with new weapons and good training.
Qi is believed to have once led about 3,000 soldiers to defeat more than 20,000 wokou. So he’s hailed by the Chinese as a “god of war”.
The film is directed by Gordon Chan, a Hong Kong filmmaker known for his portrayal of Chinese heroes on screen.
Chan says he visited every battlefield Qi fought on and met historians to avoid mistakes.
“We want to show history rather than grab attention with exaggeration,” says Chan. “The film is not about provoking an anti-Japanese mood but aims to promote peace. This attitude enticed Japanese stars to join the film,” he says.
Japanese actor Ryu Kohata, who is known to Chinese for playing a villain in the Nanjing Massacrethemed film City of Life and Death (2009), and Yasuaki Kurata, a 7 1-year-old action-film veteran often seen in 1970s’ Hong Kong films, are part of the cast.
Yu Dong, president of Bona Film Group, the production company, says: “We want to promote a film on patriotism that is also attractive to the younger generation.
“A few days after the premiere will be Children’ Day (June 1). The film will show children that China has its superheroes, and that they are real.”