About The Story
 In
the early 1600’s, the Manchurians took over the sovereignty of China
and established the Ching Dynasty. With many pro-nationalist revolts
occurring, the newly set-up government immediately imposed a ban on
the study and practice of the Martial Arts; forbidding them
altogether in an attempt to gain effective control and order.
Fire-wind (Sun Hong-Lei), a military official from the
previous dynasty, sees this as an opportunity to make a fortune for
himself by helping to implement the new law. Greedy, cruel, and
immoral, Fire-wind ravages and ranges across North-western China
with his next goal to attack the final frontier; an intransigent and
hold-out town known as the Martial Village.Fu Qingzhu, a retired
executioner from the previous dynasty, feels a moral obligation to
try and put a stop to this brutality and decides to save Martial
Village. He convinces Wu Yuanyin and Han Zhiban from the
village to travel with him to the far away and mystical Mount Heaven
in order to seek help from Master Shadow-Glow, a hermit who is a
master of swords and leads a group of disciples with unimaginable
swordsmanship. Master Shadow-Glow agrees to help, and orders four of
his best disciples to go. Together with Chu Zhaonan, Yang Yunchong,
Mulang, and Xin Longzi, their heroic journey begins. Representing
heroism and goodness at its finest, they come to be known as the
SEVEN SWORDS. Returning to Martial Village, they soon decide for
safety’s sake to move and lead the entire village to a safer place.
Soon confusion reigns as they discover that their food and water has
been poisoned, and that all of the escape routes have been marked
with signs leading the enemy directly to them. They realize that
there must be an undercover spy in their midsts; but who is it? The
SEVEN SWORDS must identify the mole before Fire-wind’s army gets to
them; otherwise all will be lost. With so many things going wrong
and stuck between a narrow gap of life and death, the situation is
further complicated by the emergence of an unexpected and unwelcome
love triangle...
Adapted from renowned writer Liang Yu-Shen’s timeless classic, SEVEN
SWORDS is an action-packed wuxia epic tapestry; intertwining love,
betrayal, heroism, and the fascinating art of swordsplay. Starring
Hong Kong megastar Leon Lai, versatile actress Charlie Young, and
international action star Donnie Yen, SEVEN SWORDS is directed by
internationally acclaimed visionary director Tsui Hark, from a
script written by Tsui Hark, Cheung Chi-Sing, and Chun Tien-Nan, and
is produced by Tsui Hark. Executive Producers are Raymond Wong, Hong
Bong-Chul and Zhang Yong.
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About The
Production
A New Vision
Since the
release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the year 2000,
Chinese martial arts films, better known as ‘wuxia’ in Chinese, have
become a new phenomenon in filmmaking; sweeping audiences worldwide
off their feet and taking them to a whole new dimension in action,
heroism, and storytelling. Tsui Hark, one of the most acclaimed
directors of martial arts action films has created many new styles
for the genre with its best known titles such as Swordsman,
Swordsman 2, New Dragon Inn, and Once Upon a Time
in China. Each one set different standards and milestones and
created new inspiration for his peers. It was only a matter of time
before the industry and audiences alike wondered when Tsui would
tackle the genre again and create a new and unique wuxia film.
“Wuxia
literature is an art and culture of its own. It has a long history
and played a very important role in the development of Chinese
culture, creating a big diversity in our philosophy. They are
imaginary stories developed from our everyday lives, expressing the
spirit of justice, heroism, and humanity”, says Tsui Hark.
And what makes the imaginary wuxia world so fascinating?
“Wuxia is a
romantic belief of a better world, an ideal world, where heroes
exist amongst us, offering justice and protection to those who do
not have the power to defend themselves,” explains Tsui. “It’s a
deed requiring you to challenge yourself, performing unleveled
courage, showing ability with hope, and knowledge with faith.”
In the past few decades, the development of wuxia filmmaking has
gone through various trends. Up to now, the spread of martial arts
culture is so unchecked and the rendering of swordplay films is so
commonplace that changes must be introduced.“Changes happen when a
particular style is over-exploited, it ultimately reaches its limit.
Heroes are so idealized and exaggerated, they end up coming off as
ridiculous instead of heroic,” notes Tsui. “I’ve wanted to try a
different way of telling an imaginary story, presenting a fantasy
world in a more realistic way and formulating a hero that we can
relate to. I want to show that a hero also has limits and weaknesses
instead of side-stepping that angle. And by showing the strength it
takes to overcome obstacles in order to achieve something bigger,
the impact is far stronger than just showing the act of heroism.”
The most important element in wuxia literature is martial arts.
Colloquially known as “wushu” or “kung-fu”, martial arts developed
from the living environment combined with literature, physical
requirements, and most importantly of all; the extension of a dream,
creating a different dimension for our imagination.
SEVEN SWORDS marks a new beginning in the culture of swordplay.
Seven extraordinary swords will play a decisive role in the story.
While recent films of this genre heavily depended on wires, visual
effects and CGI, SEVEN SWORDS is going back to the basics, focusing
on realism and authentic martial arts fighting.
“I think wuxia literature is one of the greatest heritages we have
in our culture,” continues Tsui, who’s always had a great passion
for these stories of heroism, “by jumping out of tradition, I hope
to bring a new inspiration and dimension to wuxia films, creating a
new vision for audiences to see on screen, and to re-introduce this
great treasure of ours to new generations.”
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