I love Asian Martial Arts movies, especially those that fall into the fantasy and supernatural genre. They are rich with ideas and just plain fun to watch. Two favorite martial arts fantasy films are Storm Riders and Wind and Cloud. The films are based on a Chinese comic (manhua) called Fung Wan by artist Ma Wing-shing. The story centers around two children–Whispering Wind and Striding Cloud–who grow up to become powerful warriors. Of course, an evil lord is involved, right along with a beautiful young woman who happens to be his daughter–a pawn to be used by the father to pit the two warriors against one another in order to gain power. The conflict between the now rival warriors begins, but the plot for power began long before the warriors came under the care and tutelage of the evil lord.

 

       Just so you know, my purpose here is not to retell the stories but to suggest another source where ideas can be collected. 

 

       I watched the movies (with not the best English subtitles) many years ago and as I watched all the mystical scenes–even scenes with impossible actions (which I like the best) and special effects–a new world was opened to me. Why couldn’t there be magical swords, magical beings, magical worlds? Yeah, I do know about Snow White and Cinderella, and Star Wars, but Asian martial arts films are different. They seem to step well beyond the ordinary, to push the limits of the imagination. Characters can fly without the use of machines, leap or scale building in total stealth, they can fight on water without sinking, in trees, on billowing clouds, and their swords are named and imbued with supernatural powers.  A powerful lord can use his hand to hurl balls of evil at foes who vanish in a flash of brilliant light if hit, or who can walk out of a shimmering curtain of blood or of darkness to take revenge. You get the idea. There aren’t any limits. And the supernatural element? Excellent.

 

       There’s another series that I enjoyed–Painted Skin and The Resurrection Painted Skin. Personally, I like the first movie more than the sequel because of Donnie Yen, a favorite Chinese martial arts actor. Yen does not appear in The Resurrection Painted Skin. This series is based on ancient Chinese lore which goes–if a human heart is freely given to a demon, the demon can become mortal. Apparently, this is what these demons crave. They want to experience the pains and passions of the mortal world. The stories involve the fate of two women–a good princess and a thousand-year-old fox spirit. The princess wears a golden mask to cover up facial scars put there by a wild bear. In spite of the scars, the princess–vulnerable and scared of rejection–is determined in her pursuit to find the only man she has ever loved. When encountering the princess and upon hearing her story, the fox spirit (we call them shape shifter or skin walkers) plots a takeover of the princess’s human form. The fox spirits moves about in the human world in the form of a beautiful seductress, and in order to keep the gorgeous facade, she must eat human hearts. I’ve noticed that the fox plays a big role in these fantasy-supernatural movies. That’s interesting to me because in Native American legends and lore, the wolf is of great importance.

 

       Nothing new here, really, but little things, like the magnificent scenery, the fast-paced action, the beautiful costumes, the dialogue, and so on, evoke the imagination. The films are rich with ideas, especially if you are writer of fantasy or the supernatural. The plots are as old as mankind but these films have their own twists that could be useful in a story. Give the films a try. Actually, I enjoy watching all types of Asian foreign films–Japanese, Korean, Chinese–but I love movies that involve action-packed martial arts.