Even if you hit up every film festival possible, chances are you’ll miss out on a great wealth of foreign film offerings. This month, however, US distributors have come aboard to release two wild-looking Chinese actioners and we’ve got new trailers for each.
First up, we reviewed Peter Ho-Sun Chan‘s Dragon (then titled Wu Xia) around 18 months ago at Cannes and now it’s finally set for a release. Led by Donnie Yen (Ip Man, Fist of Legend), this looks to have some intense, well-choreographed and photographed martial arts. Then we have a new trailer for Stephen Fung‘s Tai Chi Zero, which also includes some martial arts, but adds a crazy-looking steampunk aesthetic with more fantastical visuals. Check out both below, along with their posters.
Synopsis:
Liu Jin-xi (Yen) is a village craftsman whose quiet life is irrevocably shattered by the arrival of two notorious gangsters in the local general store. When Liu single-handedly saves the shopkeeper’s life, he comes under investigation by detective Xu Bai-jiu (Kaneshiro). Convinced that Liu’s martial arts mastery belies a hidden history of training by one of the region’s vicious clans, Xu doggedly pursues the shy hero–and draws the attention of China’s criminal underworld in the process.
Synopsis:
In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, and uses a powerful form of Tai Chi in all aspects of their life. Yang has arrived to try and learn it, only to find that it’s forbidden for the villagers to teach their secret style to an outsider. But when a mysterious man comes to town with a frightening steam-powered machine and plans to build a railroad through a village, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Yang, who has a secret power of his own. With action directed by the legendary Sammo Hung (Ip Man 1 & 2), Tai Chi 0 is a full-on steampunk kung-fu throw down that will knock you out of your seat.
Tai Chi Zero hits theaters October 19th, while Dragon hits VOD on October 26th and arrives in theaters on November 30th.
Are you looking to check these films out?