The Unseen Movie Review

Shaolin Soccer

Sometimes good films die a death through no fault of their own. Two of the British film industry’s biggest hits of recent years, Sexy Beast and Croupier, vanished without trace on their first release thanks to a combination of poor marketing and insufficient money for distribution. It was only after word of mouth and a decent critical response in the US that they suddenly became massive hits, and got the recognition they deserved over here.

Shaolin Soccer has been even more unlucky. On its first release in Hong Kong, its distributor neglected to take it to the Chinese censorship board; in retaliation it was banned from mainland China – one of the largest markets in the world. Despite this, it was noticed by the US, and Disney’s grown-up wing Miramax picked up distribution rights. But then they sat on it for two years without giving it a release. In the UK, it was initially meant to come out to coincide with the 2002 Football World Cup; then it was pushed back for Euro 2004. Now, having been pushed back yet again, it is at long last about to hit our cinema screens.

During the wait, pirated DVDs and internet downloads of the movie have spread through the film-buff community, buoyed by an enthusiastic online rumour mill which declared it to be one of the funniest and most original concepts to have come out of Hong Kong since Jackie Chan first started strutting his stuff. A cult film legend was born, but – as is the way of things - the filmmakers themselves have hardly seen any money from it. It has to rank as one of the most utterly unfair stories of the film world – low-budget movie becomes massive hit, but its makers are left wallowing in obscurity thanks to the ineptitude of the money men.

The fact that even in America, a country whose own concept of football involves body armour and hardly using the feet, this film received rave reviews should demonstrate amply that it is not your average soccer movie along the lines of the bland When Saturday Comes, the silly The Great Escape or the dire Mean Machine. Nor is it a typical martial arts movie, despite containing some fantastic action choreography.

What Shaolin Soccer is is an hilariously original, almost note-perfect comedy, packed with silliness, Bruce Lee homages, and the kind of football that would make even spectators at the Rangers/Celtic derby flinch. That should probably be obvious from the fact it revolves around a group of football-loving Shaolin Monks who decide to use their kung fu skills in a soccer tournament. And it’s all the brainchild of its star, Stephen Chow, who also wrote and directed. Go and see it not just for the sheer entertainment value, but also to get this poor chap the recognition (and money) he surely deserves for this superb little film.

Of course, there is almost always a downside. In this case it is, once again, the fault of the studio. For reasons best known to themselves, Miramax decided to “re-master” Shaolin Soccer before its release, and add on an English language soundtrack. As a general rule, dubbed films are never quite as good as the original versions, even if the lack of subtitles does mean you can concentrate on the action. Nonetheless, it is still well worth a look and – who knows – maybe if enough people go see it the studio will finally get its act in gear enough to do a decent DVD release with the superior original version on it.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM