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The son
of a great fighter who did
not wish for his child to
follow in his footsteps, the
bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves
to teach himself how to
fight--and win. Years of
training enable him to ace
match after match in his
home region of Tianjin. But
as his fame as a martial
arts master grows, so does
his pride. After an
ill-advised fight leads to
another master's death,
members of Huo's family are
slain in revenge. Grieving
and ashamed, Huo wanders the
country in shock. Near
death, he is rescued by
women from an idyllic
village, and is offered
simple kindness and
generosity that help him
heal and regain his
equilibrium over a period of
several years. Huo realizes
that the future of martial
arts lies in sportsmanship
and not brutality, and he
rejoins society to apply
what he has learned.
Returning to Tianjin, Huo
takes steps to come to terms
with his past and restore
his family's name. His
evolving, graceful Mizong
(Missing) Fist method of
fighting brings Huo renewed
success, and he forms the
progressive Jingwu Sports
Federation. Taking note,
duplicitous members of the
Foreign Chamber of Commerce
engineer a Shanghai
tournament pitting Huo
against four fighters, each
representing the major
foreign powers in China. Huo
commits to the bout and
faces off against,
respectively, a British
boxer, a Spanish swordsman,
a Belgian soldier and a
Japanese martial artist.
What happened that day in
1910 has never been, and
will never be, forgotten in
China.
Released December 19,
2006 |
