The Master And The Kid (1978)

Nan Kung Sao is a government security agent. After he captures a thief who is then executed, the thief's associates swear revenge. He returns home a little later to find his family has been killed, with only his young nephew Little Bean left alive. He resolves to track down the culprits and extract vengeance, and is nonplussed when Little Bean sneaks out to follow him - the kid also wants revenge!

The Master And The Kid clearly owes a debt to LONE WOLF & CUB, thematically and stylistically - though it is much less bloody. I had the sense from the name that this would be a cheapo chop-socky kind of film and put off watching it for literal decades, but it is actually surprisingly artfully shot.

The opening sequence is particularly striking - the narrative setup is conveyed with fast cuts and minimal exposition, dialogue used like punctuation. The film has a strong visual style with dramatic use of lighting and framing that is reminiscent of Japanese Samurai films, whilst showcasing Taiwan's natural beauty to great effect.

The film maintains quite a dark, serious tone - Yueh Hua's character is earnest and grim, and whilst there are some delightfully extravagant villains, they are still very menacing and the world is one of violence and brutality, where life is cheap.

Action from Liang Shao-Tsung is in the "shapes" style but quite technical, with lots of intricate attacks and blocks leading to joint dislocations and bone-breaking. It's quite grounded at first but gets more extravagant as the film progresses, leading to a pretty extravagant showdown at the end (perhaps not with who you expect!).

All told this is a very likeable film, and I kind of wish I'd watched it 20 years ago - though I'm probably better equipped to appreciate it now.