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''Iron Monkey'' (. The film was given a wide release in America in 2001 by Miramax Films with the backing of director Quentin Tarantino . It received good reviews in America, where it made $14 million. The film tells a fictionalized account of an episode in the childhood of the Chinese warrior Wong Fei Hung , and his father, Wong Kei Ying (played by Donnie Yen ). SYNOPSIS The film takes place during the Qing Dynasty , during 19th Century China, where widespread government corruption had hit the Zeijing Province particularly hard. Repeated environmental disasters and greedy government officials have starved the ordinary townspeople of their money. To protect the common people, a hero has arrived: a thief along the lines of Robin Hood or Zorro , who steals from the government and gives the money to the poor. This masked thief, known as Iron Monkey, is regarded as a hero by the townsfolk and a problem by the government. Officials from the capital are repeatedly fired and replaced for being unable to deal with Iron Monkey. The movie starts out with the Iron Monkey stealing a secret hoard of gold from the current governor, displaying incredible martial arts prowess as he defeats not only the entire militia but the four monk bodyguards of the governor. It is also revealed that the townspeople have much faith in their hero - none are worried that a new Iron Monkey wanted poster has appeared, they don't seem to believe that any government official can catch him. The Iron Monkey is actually Doctor Yang, the owner of a medical clinic called "Pa Cho Tong". Doctor Yang is not only an excellent doctor, but a fair one - he overcharges noblemen for their medicine, but gives the same medicine for free to the elderly who suffer from the environmental disasters. He is also loved by the leader of the militia, Captain Fox. Captain Fox has become somewhat obsessed with Iron Monkey - not knowing his true identity, he sees him everywhere. Iron Monkey's equal is now introduced: Wong Kei-ying, who travels into town for a short stop along with his son Wong Fei-hung. They plan only to collect his medicine and stay in town for one night, but after getting mugged, Kei-ying gets in a fight with the local street thieves. Nearby soldiers, upon watching him display his martial arts skill, believes him to be Iron Monkey and arrests him. Wong Kei-ying now sees the corruption of the local government firsthand; the soldiers have been arresting anyone remotely related to the monkey, including the owner of a performing monkey, a pharmacist who sells medicine related to the Monkey God, and a street performer who wears face paint to resemble a monkey. They are all now to be fined a huge amount of gold (500 taels), and Wong Kei-ying, upon protesting this injustice, has his son seized. Before Wong Fei-hung can be branded for opposing the court, the real Iron Monkey appears. Once again the militia is no match for the thief. Amidst the chaos, however, Wong Kei-ying escapes his capturers and engages the Iron Monkey in combat on the rooftops. It is revealed that the Iron Monkey and Wong Kei-ying are perfect equals in terms of martial arts ability. Iron Monkey only narrowly escapes. Although the real Iron Monkey has appeared, which proves that none of those arrested is he, the governor arrests Wong Fei-hung, holding a deal with Kei-ying: He must capture the Iron Monkey in seven days. He also seizes all of Kei-ying's belongings and money to keep him from abandoning the village. Wong Kei-ying, who is now stranded in the village, tries to buy some food with his remaining money and discovers, much to his surprise, that the entire village now hates him. Because Wong Kei-ying is attempting to capture Iron Monkey, street vendors refuse to sell their food to him. Hungry and tired, Kei-ying eventually stumbles upon Pa Cho Tong. After Wong Kei-ying stoops to eat a bun dropped on the ground, Orchid, who is Doctor Yang's friend and helps run the clinic, invites him inside for food. Orchid, Doctor Yang, and Wong Kei-ying all have dinner together and become good friends. Upon hearing his plight, Doctor Yang goes to the city jail and takes Wong Fei-hung into his custody, who is now sick from the plague that he has caught from other jail detainees. After saving a woman from some rapists (the four monk bodyguards of the governor) Wong Kei-ying meets the White Eagle - one of the warrior followers of the Shaolin rebel Hin-hung, who in a deal with some Qing government officials burned the Shaolin temple in the Fuijan province. Hin-hung is now a powerful official within the government. Kei-ying and the White Eagle have a brief fight before Eagle escapes. In a daydream, Orchid's past is now revealed. She was previously a prostitute, upon failed delivery of a child, Doctor Yang bought her from her previous owner. She has been living with him ever since. In the meantime, a fake official has come, claiming to be the governor's replacement after his failed attempts to capture the Iron Monkey. The fake official is really the Iron Monkey in disguise, there to steal the last of the governor's treasure by tricking him into giving it up as a bribe. Upon waking up at Pa Cho Tong, Wong Fei-hung steals an urn of medicine - he plans to sell them and buy him and his dad's way out of the village. However, he soon meets the same street thieves who fought with his dad at the beginning of the movie. He narrowly defeats them with the help of Orchid and returns to the clinic to be reunited with his father. The real government official to replace the current governor has arrived - the Monk, Hin-hung himself. The four monk bodyguards, White Eagle, and a newcomer, Twin Swords, are all his subordinates. That night, White Eagle and Twin Swords set a trap to catch the Iron Monkey. He defeats them both, only to be ambushed by Hin-hung and hit with his infamous technique - the "Shaolin King Kong Palm" (also known as the Buddha's Hit), which Hin-hung used to kill everyone in the Shaolin temple upon his betrayal. Fatally bruised, Iron Monkey runs for his life. Wong Kei-ying, who has now been patrolling the rooftops to catch the Iron Monkey, intercepts Hin-hung and the two do battle. Hin-hung remarks that Wong Kei-ying's style of fighting deviates from the orthodox version Shaolin kung fu, and he is right - Wong Kei-ying's own style incorporates the No Shadow Kick technique, which was developed by the Wong family and would later be made famous by his son, Wong Fei-hung. Wong Kei-ying is also unable to match Hin-hung, and is hit by his King Kong Palm as well. He barely escapes, and travels to Pa Cho Tong. There he discovers the Iron Monkey's real identity, but instead of turning him in, he uses his research to find a possible cure for the Shaolin King Kong Palm. The two recover and decide to try to fight Hin-hung. Hin-hung has now defeated both Wong Kei-ying and the Iron Monkey. He sets out an order to arrest Wong Kei-ying, branding him a traitor. Knowing that both Kei-ying and Iron Monkey are suffering from his deadly Palm, he orders all soldiers to search every clinic in the city and arrest all the doctors. One night, as Doctor Yang and Wong Kei-ying are both away, the four monks arrive at the Pa Cho Tong clinic. Finding Orchid, they try to rape her only to find she is also an accomplished master of martial arts. Narrowly defeating her using Ether Powder, they are then defeated by Wong Fei-hung. However, he in turn is defeated by White Eagle, who arrests him and brings him to the castle. Wong Kei-ying and Iron Monkey now storm the government building. With the help of Orchid and Master Fox, Wong Fei-hung is rescued. Hin-hung, Wong Kei-ying, and Iron Monkey now engage in the final confrontation - the legendary fire pole fight. Hin-hung, due to his size, is unable to fight properly on the poles. However, he is still more than a match for both Wong Kei-ying and Iron Monkey combined. Only with spectacular teamwork are the two able to narrowly defeat the Monk. Hin-hung is burned to death and the five refugees escape. The end of the movie is left ambiguous - another new official arrives soon enough, and they can only hope that he will be a fair one. Wong Kei-ying and his son leave for Fu-shan as originally planned, wishing the best of luck to Doctor Yang. CHANGES TO THE AMERICAN VERSION The 2001 release by Miramax made several changes to the original film in order to make it more marketable for American audiences. Since most Americans are unfamiliar with the story of Wong Fei Hung, his name was removed from the title. The film had its subtitles tailored to remove the political context of the story, had scenes trimmed and changed for violence and pacing, and had the soundtrack changed, removing the famous Wong Fei Hung theme. TRIVIA
AWARDS This film was nominated the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography (Directors Woo-ping Yuen, Cheung-Yan Yuen, Shun-Yee Yuen & Hin-Chiu Kook). EXTERNAL LINKS |
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