Red Fists, Part 3: Hsia Moon and ‘Young Heroes’ (1983)

In the years following the release of Jet Li’s first movie, SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1982), a number of martial arts films were made in China. That these productions were made with official support indicated quite a change from the government’s original stance on kung fu cinema. Having monks for heroes was a big break from the old Communist party line too. The SHAOLIN TEMPLE sequels, KIDS FROM SHAOLIN (1984, directed by Chang Hsin Yen) and MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN (1985, directed by Lau Kar-leung), did well on the international circuit, but a big part of their appeal was the photogenic young lead, Jet Li. If audiences liked wushu champions, well, China had plenty of other wushu champions. Producers and directors in both Hong Kong and the Mainland scrambled to bring this new style of kung fu film to the lucrative genre market.

Cover of VHS box for YOUNG HEROES.

Besides the Jet Li films, the wushu movie that has remained most vivid in my memory is one from 1983 called YOUNG HEROES. I screened it as a projectionist at the Star Cinema in Boston around 1985. One of my co-workers called it “the perfect kiddie matinee” feature, and she was right. It was an adventure with cartoon-bright characters, sometimes funny and sometimes scary. The main characters were played by kids from the sports training programs, ranging in age from approximately nine to 14. The film opens in a 19th century river town under lockdown by government troops. Word has reached the emperor that a band of rebels have hidden their families, including the leader’s son Erh Mao, in the town. Rebel supporters are spiriting the children to a boat that will take them to safety. But an ambush awaits at the river. Five top assassins have been sent by the emperor to eliminate the kids. When the trap is sprung, three of the kids take off overland with Erh Mao in a desperate race for safety. A local boy joins them. His name is Big Man. He’s only ten or so, but he has a wife – an adult woman, an ace martial artist, in a marriage arranged by his family. Big Man is running away from his wife, and prefers risking the assassins to staying home with his spouse.

Unlike the other wushu films of the time, which tended to be very flat and spare-looking, YOUNG HEROES has a lush, cinematic quality. I seem to remember hearing it was filmed on location in Sichuan Province, and the environment, all river gorges and mountains and savannah, is used to good effect. It’s been practically impossible to find any information on the film until recently. It was directed by Tun Fei Mou, who also directed the notorious MEN BEHIND THE SUN (1987), a horror film about the Nanjing Massacre. The only cast member I’ve been able to identify is wushu performer Zhang Xiaoyan, who played the wife of Big Man. Evidently she now teaches martial arts in Paris and is the coach of the French Wushu Team.

Left: Hsia Moon. Right: Zhang Xiaoyan.

YOUNG HEROES was produced by Bluebird Movie Enterprises, Ltd., a company formed in 1980 by the “Crown Princess” of the left-wing movie studio Great Wall, actress Hsia Moon (Xia Meng, Miranda Yang). Hsia was born in 1932 in Shanghai, but moved to Hong Kong with her family in 1947. She decided to become an actress after starring in a school play. Hsia Moon was one of the most popular stars of the Mandarin-speaking cinema of the 1950s and 60s. Great Wall films were distributed in China until the Cultural Revolution, and Hsia was famous on the Mainland as well. She retired in 1967, apparently out of concern over the political turmoil that was building in the Mainland. Hsia Moon returned to the industry with the founding of her production company over a decade later. Her first credit as producer was Ann Hui’s award-winning debut film, BOAT PEOPLE (1981). Her second film was YOUNG HEROES. A third followed in 1984, HOMECOMING, directed by Yim Ho. After making three innovative films with young directors, Hsia sold her company and retired for good.

In this clip from YOUNG HEROES, we see Big Man’s wife (Zhang Xiaoyan) rescue him from one of the assassins, whom she fights with sword against stick and snake technique against tiger. You get a glimpse of the other kids too: Big Leopard, Little Leopard, Jiang, and Erh Mao. There are so many great fight scenes in this film. This is just a little taste. I really wish someone would track this one down and release a good DVD. All I have is this second-hand Cantonese-dubbed old VHS tape that cuts off the edges of the picture. Even that is better than nothing.

This entry was originally posted in November 2007.