The Twelve Gold Medallions
One of the first Hong Kong films I saw on the big screen was Righting Wrongs, starring Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock. A good film, it helped hook me on HK cinema. It also served as a shocking introduction to the pessimism of Hong Kong film. By the time the credits rolled every single character was dead, heroes and villains alike.
And Righting Wrongs is by no means alone; Hong Kong films are full of pessimistic endings that would get them booed in American multiplexes. We prefer that our heroes win, not die in a hail of gunfire mere inches from the goal.
Shaw Brothers romances certainly offered a fair share of bitter endings; full of dead lovers and shattered dreams, their wenyi romances only occasionally ended on a happy note.
The same downbeat ethos makes a strong appearance in The 12 Golden Medallions, a film guaranteed to dishearten even the strongest optimist.
Chin Ping stars in her last swordplay film as Jin Suo, a conflicted martial artist; her father (Ching Miao) has betrayed the government for power and her fiance, Miao Lung (Yueh Hua), has broken their engagement so that he can fight the traitors. Does she betray her mad-with-power father? Can she trust the unfilial Miao Lung? Add in a huge amount of stage blood (honestly, the screenwriter just keeps inventing new characters so that he can have them brutally slaughtered), and you’ve got yourself an upbeat flick!
Director Cheng Kang, along with action directors Simon Chui Yee-Ang and Sammo Hung, try out a lot of new tricks to liven up swordplay cliches. In the film’s opening fight, Miao Lung shows off by sticking his hand into boiling oil and the baddies destroy bowls with streams of water. I appreciated their effort.
Medallions never really shines, but its creative fights, combined with fine performances from the always reliable Chin Ping and Yueh Hua make for an entertaining ninety minutes – even as the film tries to be as pessimistic as possible.
Ian Whitney
Published: 2006-06-01