Denmark’s kung fu ‘Fighter’

Here’s a film that gets me truly excited. Female Danish filmmaker Natasha Arthy (OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND BLUE) has directed her third feature, a modern-day kung fu drama with a Turkish protagonist and veteran Chinese stunt actor Gao Xian. You can’t get much more culturally diverse than that.

FIGHTER stars newcomer Semra Turan as a high school student and passionate kung fu fighter named Aicha. Her Turkish parents expect her to get good grades so she can get into medical school, like her brother Ali. But school doesn’t inspire her. Defying her family, Aicha starts secretly training at a professional, co-ed kung fu club. A boy, Emil, helps Aicha train for the club championship and they fall in love. But the rules of life are not as simple as the rules of kung fu, and Aicha is forced to decide who she is and what she wants.

Aside from the Turkish angle, the plot could have been pulled from an unused KARATE KID sequel but I like the idea of a female filmmaker putting her spin on a martial arts film with a female protagonist. I also like seeing kung fu forms being the focus of competitive martial arts in a Western film. The art may be old news for China but wushu and traditional kung fu continue to gain popularity worldwide, enough so that the Western world deserves to have its own “Kung Fu Kid.” Thankfully, the producers knew what they were doing when it came to hiring someone to craft credible kung fu screen fighting.

Mainland Chinese actor Gao Xian is best known as the bumbling, bald-headed guard in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON who gets humorously tripped up during a nighttime battle between Cheng Pei-pei and Chow Yun-fat. In FIGHTER he not only portrays Aicha’s kung fu instructor but was also the film’s lead fight coordinator. His past stunt acting credits include FONG SAI YUK (1993) and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 4 (1993). Gao is a lifelong martial artist with a background in Sanda, the full-contact competitive sparring version of modern wushu. Undoubtedly, this experience along with years working in the film industry beginning in 1982 with THE SECRET OF TAI CHI proved invaluable in crafting the action scenes in FIGHTER. (For more information about Gao Xian check out Bob Feldman’s article for Kung Fu Magazine).

FIGHTER is a Danish-language film that was produced by Johnny Anderson and Nimbus Film Productions and released in Denmark in December of last year by Sandrew Metronome Film Distribution.

Due to surprisingly high-gloss production value from a mere $300,000 budget along with slick action sequences, I predict FIGHTER will gain momentum on the film festival circuit and end up with North American distribution from a major player. One can hope.

Official Site
http://www.fighter-filmen.dk