A Deadly Secret
(Lian cheng jue, 1980)

Mou Tun Fei

Hong Kong

90 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2006 Branislav L. Slantchev

My Shih Szu marathon has led me to my first ever experience with Mou Tun Fei, and I have to say I am walking away from it somewhat impressed. For a film in which a third of the action takes place in a badly lit cell, this is perhaps surprising. And if it weren't for the story, the film would admittedly be boring because the directing is simply not good enough to sustain the drama in a confined space the way, say, Kurosawa could in High and Low (half the film is in one room). In addition, the openly sadistic torture scenes are not exactly my cup of tea either, so it could not have been that notorious aspect of the film that drew (and kept) my attention.

He even looks unjustly accused!	Yueh Hua is rare role of corrupt magistrate

Let's dispense with the sadistic element first because too many people comment on Mou's penchant for the mortification of the flesh without any spiritual benefit. Here, there's really one scene which makes up for its solitude by being absolutely off-putting. Imagine a chair with a hole in the seat. Now imagine a prisoner being forced into that chair and held down by several large logs pressing on his body. Now imagine a pole with a sharp peg attached at a right angle at its end. Now imagine this pole positioned such that the peg points upwards directly into the hole in the chair. Now imagine several people pressing down on the pole's other end so that it works as a fulcrum, driving the peg into the hole... and whatever else happens to be on top of that hole. Repeat this several times. Then observe closeups of the peg dripping with blood.

Chanel styling never out of fashion	Next sequence censored for extreme sadism

Yeah, it's painful, it's sadistic, and it serves absolutely no purpose that could not have been achieved in less gruesome ways. In fact, the effect of this particular torture is undermined almost immediately because in the very next scene the prisoner suddenly leaps to his feet and gives his cell-mate a good thrashing. Either he has an easily distensible rectum or possesses miraculous recuperative powers that would put Jesus's healing touch to shame. I seem to remember that it is quite hard to recover from such anal injuries if that guy in New York that the cops buggered with a baton (or was it a broomstick) is any indication. So let nobody claim that I do not bring empirical evidence to bear on my analyses.

Gratuitous dirty looks by Liu Lai Ling	Caught in ostensible flagrante delicto

Now that we have dispensed with the sadistic element, let's get on to the good stuff. The story is pretty simple actually. Ting Dien (Jason Pai Piao) is being held prisoner by the absolutely depraved magistrate Lung (Yueh Hua in a rare role of a bad guy). Lung wants Ting to divulge the eponymous "deadly secret," which is apparently some sort of cross between a treasure map and superb fighting technique. To make his request more persuasive, he subjects Ting to monthly torture which can tax even the most imaginative sadist. Ting, however, seems to be more interested in breeding new species of lady-birds in his ferocious hairdo that makes Robinson Crusoe look like a well-kempt ad for Men's Warehouse.

Jason Pai Piao on steel hardening techniques	The inevitable sifu/student scene

Ting's problems, however, are not limited to Lung's depredations and scandalous abuse of governmental authority. Periodically, Ting's cell is invaded by throngs of aspiring thugs who aspire to get the deadly secret in order to be real deadly thugs. Unfortunately (for them), Ting's martial arts quickly turn them into bunches of dead thugs, which creates a lot of additional work for the underpaid prison wards who, understandably, have come to resent Ting for making them perform unpleasant clean-up tasks after hours. Ting, however, does not care. In fact, when he is not busy using Buddhist monks as punching bags, he maintains his abiding interest in remote horticulture by observing a pot of flowers that gets mysteriously changed every day. This leads me to suspect that Ting actually wants to stay in his cell on account of his research into the daily patterns of the person who replaces the pots.

What is filial duty to an scoundrel of a dad?	Gratuitous shot of Shih Szu

At this point, I would be remiss not to mention the main character of the story, a clueless guy by the name of Ti Yuen (Wu Yuan-Chun). He gets framed by his sifu Qiu (Tang Chin-Tang) who conspires with his two brothers Man (Walter Tso) and Yin (Wai Wang), and a good-for-nothing student Man (Dick Wei) who is jealous of Ti because the frequently pouting and always pretty Qiu Qi Fong (Liu Lai-Ling) has cast her maidenly gaze at Ti instead of the frequently heroically semi-naked Man. (If this reminds you of the basic problem that Jimmy Wang Yu had to face in One-Armed Swordsman, then you have done your homework.) Unfortunately, Ti is rather inept in martial arts, so it's actually quite easy to frame him: they get the guy stone drunk, shove him into a bed with some girl, and then stage a surprise discovery of his atrociously ungentlemanly behavior. As a result, Ti is thrown in jail for raping the girl. This leaves Man as the only suitor for Miss Qiu, and she marries him, presumably out of spite to Ti.

Forcible conversion away from Buddhism	Next: middle-finger fu tutorial

But what do the elder brothers want with Ti? That's where the first hole in the plot is revealed in all its dubious glory. Apparently, they want him to befriend Ting and weasel out the deadly secret from him. To make the setup more creditable, they have not told Ti of this minor part of their plan. Just why Ti would tell them the secret after learning the cool invincible fighting technique is never adequately explained although it must have been something they should have thought about considering the fact that Ti does not tell them anything in the end. When Ti attempts to impersonate a piñada to the detriment of his neck and lungs, Ting decides that the boy is no stooge for his enemies (although he could have been a stooge who deserves to be placed on suicide watch). This causes Ting to change his attitude and improve his manners: he never steals Ti's Peking Duck lunch ever again.

Read sign: wash hands after using lavatory!	Today is a good day for a treacherous outing

Lest one thinks that the film is about some secret, let me make clear that it is actually a very tragic love story of Shakespearean proportions. There's even a balcony and trysts involving a damsel perched on it. The classy and beautiful (I am running out of epithets here) Shih Szu plays Ting's love interest Seung Wa, who is, wouldn't you have it, Ling's daughter. Talk about doomed love! Their relationship started off quite well before Ling realized that Ting knows the deadly secret. It was also quite proper, with Ting straining his glutes on the dewy lawn under Seung Wa's balcony and performing mute serenades in her honor. Eventually, they even get to talk to each other. As Ting characterizes their relationship in an astonishingly erudite way, theirs is a Platonic love. Just when they are about to turn their relationship into Aristotelian love, Ling gets a hold of his daughter's suitor and the torture festivities begin.

Passive serenade	Is this what they call 'platonic love'?

The nice thing about the film is the strange love between Ting and Seung Wa (whose father eventually goes totally unparental on her and has her buried alive). It is very touching, to be sure, but there is also something melancholy in Seung Wa's suicidal devotion to filial duty that makes her stay with her father even while refusing to help him obtain the secret (presumably because that would cause the immediate painful death of Ting). Mou does not believe that love can conquer anything, and in fact in this film all relationships that involve any sort of noble feeling end in bitter and inglorious demise. Ting will not be saved, his suffering will not be redeemed, and his sacrifice will be for naught, at least if he can help it. He never even manages to convey the deadly secret to his new friend Ti. At least Seung Wa manages to exact her revenge literally from beyond the grave, which is small consolation to anyone who does not believe she will be united with Ting in the Pure Land.

The hilarious poke'n'steal the corpse game	Yueh Hua confronts the deadly shovel-fu

So why did I like this film so much. For one, there's the absolutely hilarious scene when four avaricious guys battle with each other and with Ti for dying Ting's body. Each one attempt to carry him off the field while the others attempt to stop him. The sequence is very well shot and is so funny, one tends to forget that Ting is not only dying but that he is actually dead. The other reason is Shih Szu. She does not get to fight, but she gets to pretend to be an innocent maiden. Also good. Third, Ting does not fight like a sissy. When he is attacked in his cell, he quickly kills his attackers. None of that jumping around and slapping crap. The real reason, however, is the nihilist undertone of the film. Despite his devotion to Seung Wa, Ting is no hero by any stretch of imagination. Likewise, Ti is more of a bumbling idiot than a worthy lead character. When he has to assume the responsibility of knowing the secret, he flatly refuses. In a way, there is not one sympathetic character in the film (even Seung Wa's decision not to elope with Ting makes her unworthy of his dedication). There are no happy endings either, despite the moralizing tone of the final scenes.

Read it and weep: blank verse	Gratuitous shot of a bleeding Liu Lai Ling

The Celestial DVD is pretty good, with the usual anamorphic widescreen transfer at 2.35:1, with vibrant colors and good contrast. Remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in Mandarin with optional English subtitles. Extras limited to trailers, talent files, and a still gallery. As a whole, a moderately enjoyable film on a decent DVD. For rabid fans of Yueh Hua and Shih Szu only if it comes to owning the disc.

January 17, 2006