THE ABSURD BRAVE is the first entry in a two-part adventure that pits the murderous seductress Lady Nine Flowers and a family of oppressors against the justice-seeking son of a murdered official, his mischievous uncle, a knightly swordsman, and a righteous government investigator. The story concludes in the sequel LADY NINE FLOWER. Both films were produced in Taiwan during the island’s wuxia boom of the late 1960s. They are both remakes of a black and white, Cantonese two-part feature from 1948 with the literal-translated title of THE BIG FIGHT BETWEEN COPPER HAMMER AND MADAM NINE FLOWERS.

This original Hong Kong production, which starred Walter Tso from Hong Kong’s 1964 BUDDHA’S PALM fantasy epic, must have been a big hit back in 1948 to be revived two decades later. I wish I could compare the two versions but the earlier version is likely lost. All I can do is judge THE ABSURD BRAVE in context to similar Taiwanese and Hong Kong wuxia pics from the ’60s. In that regard, the film is rather slow moving with very limited and crude swordplay action. Without a lot of action, the addition of a rambling and episodic narrative makes it difficult to stay interested.

The most enjoyable aspect of this film is the character “Ou Yang Teh,” played by veteran actor Cheung Gwong-chiu. He’s an unconventional hero sporting a goat skin coat and massive square-rimmed glasses. He wields a large iron pipe for a weapon and along with his non-fighting nephew, often resorts to trickery and disguises to defeat his adversaries. At one point, Yang-teh and his nephew disguise themselves as ghosts in order to rescue the government investigator who has been kidnapped.

It’s the kind of strange character that would be a natural fit for Stephen Chow to revive. This Ou Yang-teh visibly stands out so much in this film that I suspect he must have been appearing in other popular media at the time, perhaps comics, radio or newspaper serials. It is like a famous cartoon character walking through a swordplay movie.

The only other character of interest is Lady Nine Flowers herself. I cannot identify the actress in the role but with devilish looks, she is well cast as a conniving murderess who seduces young men in her bedchamber before killing them with the aid of her retinue of fighting courtesans. She is also a swordswoman but this movie really isn’t about typical swordsmanship. I’m even hesitant to label it a wuxia film. Fighting is limited and often replaced by magical feats or trickery. As the title suggests, THE ABSURD BRAVE is more of an adventurous comedy.

For aid in identifying this film I’ll run through the plot quickly. It begins with Lady Nine Flowers and her band of thugs slaying government officials who had earlier had a part in the capture, conviction and execution of her father, the head of the Five Flower Sect.

Wu Chieh is the surviving son of a murdered official who seeks justice by finding his uncle, Ou Yang-teh (Cheung Gwong-chiu). As Nine Flowers continues her streak of vengeance, Yang-teh and his nephew set out to put a stop to her. Along the way, they are joined by the local commissioner’s chief lieutenant who lends his sword to their cause.

A big part of the plot involves a government official’s investigation of Lady Nine Flowers’ criminal associates, a family led by Hua Teh-yu (O Yau-man). They have been oppressing the local populace with the approval of a corrupt magistrate. The visiting official disguises himself as a fortune teller to infiltrate the family but he is discovered and captured. A plan is concocted to lure Lady Nine Flowers out to kill the official for the family but Ou Yang-teh and his nephew are able to rescue him first.

After the rescued official deals with the criminal family, the heroes set out to confront Lady Nine Flowers at her headquarters. They are met by a small army of sword-wielding courtesans and fighting breaks out. Nine Flowers makes her escape in the melee, leaving the final confrontation for the sequel.

What’s interesting about this last fight is that the courtesans actually disrobe to their petticoats in an effort to seduce their attackers while fighting them. This brands them as immoral and thus deserving of the deadly punishment they receive from the righteous heroes, despite the fact that they are women.

As a student of Taiwanese and Hong Kong films, I find THE ABSURD BRAVE intriguing on several levels. But strictly as genre entertainment, the film is a bore and probably won’t interest most martial arts movie fans, largely due to the very limited display of crude swordplay in a slow-moving story. I can see how perhaps some of the elements in the film might have been interesting at the time of release but there’s nothing present that hasn’t been covered more thoroughly in subsequent martial arts movies, particularly the slapstick comedy and supernatural hijinks found in the classic kung fu comedies of Sammo Hung.

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