BLOGTOBER 10/8/2019: BOXER’S OMEN
I’m a little mad at myself for watching this so close to the beginning of the month, because it can only possibly be downhill from here. BOXER’S OMEN is one of the most beautiful and inventive movies I have ever seen. Celebrated Shaw Brothers stalwart Kuei Chih-Hung went way above and beyond the call of duty with this revenge epic about a boxer who, dutybound to avenge his maimed brother, descends into a world of supernatural trials and tribulations that makes Dragonball Z look like a work of grim realism. I’m embarrassed that it took me this long to see this monumental cinematic achievement, though the shame should be on a world that has failed to honor it with continued circulation.
In the course of his continuously escalating responsibilities as his brother’s avenger, Chan Hung (prolific director and actor Philip Ko) must leave his secular life behind to acquire powers that can only be won through consummate buddhist devotion. Off the bat, BOXER’S OMEN offers up the violent thrills of expert martial arts combat, chiefly between Ko and bodybuilder Bolo Yeung (ENTER THE DRAGON, BLOODSPORT, et al), and then blends them with the heightened excitement of special effects the likes of which few will have ever seen. The photography alone is enough to dazzle the eye, but the film’s combination of animation, puppetry, and outrageous gore gags puts it all the way over the top. BOXER’S OMEN covers the full spectrum of sacred and profane experience, at times lavishly gorgeous, then challenging beyond reason, especially in the case of a shamanic resurrection that reaches the depraved depths of the deservedly notorious SWEET MOVIE. Struggling to come up with critiques of this incomparable film, I was tempted to say that it drags at times; but, I’m pretty sure that what actually happened was that my brain just shorted out from the relentless stimulation, and was simply gasping for oxygen.
Watching BOXER’S OMEN put me in the mind of an important argument we genre freaks often have to have. It’s a little hard to pin down, but it has something to do with the contentious definition of “outsider art” as opposed to “real” art, high brow versus low brow, camp versus class. This movie is so accomplished and original that I would like to believe that, were it released today when more viewers are more interested in “world cinema” (a term as dubious as “outsider art”) and feats of unusual imagination, it would be a strong Oscar contender. I mean not that I give a shit about the Oscars, but you shouldn’t have to be a devotee of the weird and esoteric to appreciate and celebrate what’s going on here. This is as fascinating and transcendent as anything from the oft-overrated Jodorowsky (and far less up its own ass). Criterion should have this, at should be in the MoMA. It annoys me to think of pretentious fashion plates like Nicolas Winding-Refn capitalizing on his obvious studies of the mystery, darkness, and psychedelic radiance possessed by relatively obscure movies like this, while only nerds like Nicolas Winding-Refn tend to even know anything about them. I can only hope that BOXER’S OMEN is not tied up in some rights issue, that the more curable problem of ignorance is the reason for its current rarity, and that we’ll find it much more available in the future.
