A rewarding and humbling experience that the audience has to work for, rather than just sit back and watch.,

WildStrawberries

If you are going to see The Seven Swords, be prepared to have to pay close attention and keep an open mind. For the fist half an hour I was immensely frustrated, both with the rambling editing and seemingly out-of-place music, but once I realized that what I was seeing was not a standardly narrated action drama, but an exploration of heroism, redemption and meaning of life at its best.

Once you surrender yourself to the jagged style and that every second of a scene might be the last and that many of them don't last more than two shots, you appreciate every little detail and cherish every word. This is not a film, this is a documentary of the history and the very beginning of the Wuxia culture and heroism in general, and you are invited to the fictional world that is frighteningly reflecting our own. I was amazed at how staged and stylized scripts, acting, editing and action have become, and how this director seemed to say so much with so little words. Just watching the emotional expressions on the characters will attack you so much deep inside that your heart will be literally breaking apart and you start gasping for one little breath. I was so refreshed after seeing this movie that I felt like running off into the wilderness and escaping the constraints of society forever. So much is crammed in to every minute that it seemed like you saw literally 10 films at once. It is not so much a slow pace that bores many viewers (the man in front of me left halfway through) but the need for them to expect nothing more than what they are shown. In other words, do not expect to be handed character motives and themes on a plate. A great film for devoted and hardworking audiences, but not for the impassible, faint-hearted, squeamish and heartless. In the end, this film will reward such audience with an unforgettable experience that can sometimes appear only once in a lifetime.

On a side note, evidently there's a lot to look forward to upon hearing that along with the sparked enthusiasm by the producers and audiences alike and the recent reports of the preparation of a number of sequels, this film officially marks the beginning of the new wave of martial arts movie-making in the 21st century.

score 10/10

WildStrawberries 12 June 2006

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1391902/