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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Hongxia remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
So, Hongxia. If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned revenge flick, the kind where someone gets absolutely wronged and then just *becomes* this unstoppable force, you really ought to see this. It totally delivers on that promise, no fancy tricks needed. Folks who need super deep, philosophical stuff might find it a bit too straightforward, though. 🤷♀️
The movie doesn't waste any time getting to the heart of it. We see Hongxia's grandmother, a really kind, gentle soul, just brutally taken out by this warlord. It’s quick and sharp, leaving a mark on you right from the start.
After that, it's all about Hongxia’s transformation. Her training, if you even wanna call it that, feels less like a movie montage and more like pure, desperate necessity. It's not about grace at first, just raw anger getting hammered into something unbelievably sharp. 💪
There's this one shot, man, I can't shake it. She’s practicing with a sword in the pouring rain, and the water just *clings* to her face. It’s not for show, it just looks so incredibly *hard*, like every single drop is adding to the weight she’s carrying.
The action sequences are surprisingly grounded. Not overly flashy or choreographed for aesthetics, but they have a real, visceral impact. You feel every single hit, every block; it all feels so earned.
There’s a particular fight in a chaotic marketplace that really caught my eye. So much flying fruit and overturned stalls. It just feels *messy* in a good way, like a real street brawl, but with serious martial arts involved.
The warlord, the guy who kicks off all this misery, he’s pretty much just *the bad guy*. He doesn't get a ton of screen time to, like, develop a nuanced backstory, but honestly, for this specific type of story, he really doesn't need it. His evil is set up early, you know what he's about.
One small detail that kinda grabbed me: the costumes. They aren’t super ornate or anything, but they feel genuinely authentic to the period. You can practically feel the rough fabric, the dust on the hems of their robes. It just added this nice, understated layer of realism to what's otherwise a pretty dramatic revenge tale.
And the silence! There are these long stretches where Hongxia just *is*, you know? No dialogue, just her moving, thinking, plotting. It really lets you sit with her emotions, her singular focus. That's kinda rare for an action movie, and it mostly works, even if sometimes it feels a *tad* long.
When she finally confronts the warlord? It’s exactly what you've been waiting for, what you'd expect. No big, flowery speeches, just a very direct, almost inevitable clash. The way she moves, it’s not just skill, it’s like pure, distilled vengeance. Like watching a storm in human form. 🌪️
Is it, like, a capital-M Masterpiece? Probably not, no. But it is an incredibly satisfying watch if you're in the mood for some serious, no-nonsense retribution. It sticks to its own specific kind of story, and sometimes, that’s just perfect.
Oh, and there’s this quick, almost blink-and-you-miss-it scene. A child tries to offer her a flower after one of her more brutal takedowns. She just looks at it, almost confused, then keeps walking without a word. That moment, it just *hits* you, makes you think about the real cost of all that vengeance. 🤔
Then, at the very end, she walks away into a literal red sunset. Like, a _really_ vivid one. Her name, *Hongxia*, means "red sunset." It’s either incredibly clever or just a happy accident, but it sure left an impression. A good little visual wrap-up, that.
IMDb —
1912
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