Once Upon a Time in China (A Fistic Ballet Matinee)

Once Upon a Time in China / Hong Kong/ 1991/ Dir: Tsui Hark/ 134 Min / Current Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Writer-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China begins with this riotously entertaining epic, a blockbuster hit that cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest martial-arts superstar of his generation. Li displays his stunning, fast-and-fluid fighting style as the legendary martial-arts teacher and doctor Wong Fei-hung, who, with a band of disciples, battles a host of nefarious forces—foreign and local—who are threatening Chinese sovereignty as British and American imperialists encroach upon the Mainland. Once Upon a Time in China’s breathtaking blend of kung fu, comedy, romance, and melodrama climaxes in a whirlwind guns-vs.-fists finale that is also a thrilling affirmation of Chinese cultural identity.