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"ah jin" is also known as "ah jin's story" (mainland version). the commentator said, "this movie is ann hui's love letter to the hong kong martial arts industry."

besides the film, the biggest hot topic is the injury of the lead actress michelle yeoh. fortunately, she escaped with no serious injury, otherwise michelle yeoh's acting history might have been rewritten. this also shows that the life of a martial artist as reflected in "a jin" is indeed difficult.

when "a jin" was released in hong kong in 1996, one year before the handover, people can see some precious videos of the era on the internet, such as hundreds of thousands of hong kong people queuing up to apply for naturalization and leave hong kong, rushing to settle down in the outside world before 1997.

author: wang chongyang lp

editor | xiaobai

typesetting | die

as for "ah jin" (played by michelle yeoh), she and the mainlanders who came to hong kong to make a living are also filling the huge population gap, but compared with the highly educated people who left hong kong, people like ah jin are mostly engaged in manual labor. she has some martial arts skills and became a martial artist, specializing in extras or doubles in movies.

ann hui is very good at depicting the life and emotions of women at the bottom of society, but she shoots them realistically. such as "a woman at 40", "a thousand words", "my aunt's postmodern life", "days and nights in tin shui wai", "a simple life", etc. "a jin" is one of her relatively "rough" films. i say "rough" because it can be regarded as a new attempt of ann hui's directorial style. she divides the film into three parts and tells the life of a jin from different angles. this was a very bold idea at that time and even now.

it is also because of this that the story of "ah jin" has become the only hong kong film that tells the life of a female martial artist.

with her extraordinary skills, ah jin was appreciated by the martial arts master pili (played by sammo hung), and since then she has stood firm in the martial arts industry. at the same time, pili also taught ah jin how to protect herself in every action scene. pili was disdainful or suspicious of this woman at first.

it's not because of anything else, but because being a martial artist is too hard. after a big scene, you have to go to the hospital, and you may never see this person again. many martial arts masters suffer from injuries when they get older. these are all told by the old masters in "dragon tiger martial arts master" more than 20 years later.

at this time, pili can still treat a jin as a "little friend", knowing that this woman came from the mainland and is very similar to himself when he was wandering around the world, only with kung fu and a strong body. at this stage, the relationship between a jin and pili is very pleasant:

there is no love between men and women, only comrades-in-arms. ah jin would even occasionally look after pili's son ah lang. the two of them worked well together, and the martial arts brothers often went out to eat, drink and chat after work. their lives were considered carefree. however, ah jin was still deceived. she met a man named ah shan (played by huang jianuo). women are different from men. men live on loyalty and courage, while women need to be loved. ah shan is an old hand. after several rounds, ah jin promised to marry him, thinking that she would stay with this man for the rest of her life.

she left the martial arts industry and went to shenzhen with ashan to help him run his karaoke business.

then she found that ah shan also trusted her and knew that ah jin was his woman, but ah shan hoped to have many women at the same time...

frustrated, jin returns to hong kong, but having been hurt by a relationship and having not practiced for a long time, her skills and agility are not as good as before.

how did pili treat her?

while cursing, he began to help her, just like he did when she first came.

this true expression of love deserves praise:

there is no deliberate emphasis on the love between men and women like in romantic or art films, especially the relationship between pili and ah jin. as a martial arts boss, pili (i always equate this character with sammo hung himself) has seen storms, money and life, and finally died at the hands of gangsters. this character's style is impossible to show greasy and disgusting emotions to ah jin or any woman. his emotional changes towards ah jin are also subtle. i think until pili died, ah jin was more like a "brother" in his eyes.

unfortunately, the film ended up being an action movie:

the gangsters are seeking revenge. in order to protect pili's son alang, a jin fights with the gangsters and the two sides start a fight...

although it failed to break away from the routine of commercial films, "ah jin" did not waste the skills of sammo hung and michelle yeoh.

this was a result that we had to bear back then and even now.

"a jin" is a film that is worth observing for future generations to see the survival status of hong kong martial arts at that time. this group has not been paid attention to until today. as for martial artists, only the best of them will be famous after they become famous, such as sammo hung, jackie chan, wei junzi, etc. the earliest one can be traced back to a documentary about hong kong martial arts stunts made by americans. at that time, it was still because jackie chan's movies were popular in europe and the united states. foreigners couldn't help but wonder:

what made these people risk their lives?

today, the answer is still:

money and loyalty.

in the 1960s and 1970s, the average monthly salary of hong kong people was only a hundred dollars, but martial artists could earn two to three thousand dollars a month. they received their salary that month and their cars the next day. but it was not easy to get this money, as it cost their lives.

"pili" is a typical example. it stands to reason that after so many years of being a martial artist, he should have a lot of savings, but pili's life is obviously not a life of luxury cars and high buildings, because he has many "ajin" around him - brothers and sisters who need to help him, and he also spends money lavishly. when his brothers encounter problems, he has to spend money to help them settle them.

the negotiation between pili and "african chicken" (played by zheng zeshi) in the movie is an example:

"african chicken" asked him to eat oysters, but pili refused and turned away. pili said that what could he eat if his brother's affairs were not settled?

in the eyes of the gangs, pili still has a certain status——

in order to avoid being bullied, the martial artists formed their own faction and fought together when things happened. their boxing skills could calm the situation to some extent, and also solved some problems for many directors and crews. therefore, the martial arts industry is an existence that cannot be ignored in the martial arts world. this is also in line with the history of the development and rise of the hong, cheng, liu (jialiang), and yuan (heping) classes.

in a flash, people entered the new century.

michelle yeoh filmed "huo yuanjia" and "sword rain", and then went to hollywood to develop her career.

in 2021's "dragon tiger martial arts master", sammo hung mentioned many times the frustration of "i want to help, but i can't". because the martial arts industry was in a downturn at that time, everyone was talking about special effects, and life-threatening things were not worth promoting. moreover, society is becoming more and more disciplined, and it is better for martial artists to show their fists and feet in film and television dramas to be more in line with the values ​​of the new era.

i remember that chin kar lok became the youngest pillar of the group and even started a martial arts actor guild. some young people joined the group, including some young girls. however, unlike the "ah jin" of the past, they were more interested in the group than in making a living. there was a girl who was originally a white-collar worker, but she liked kung fu and wanted to be a martial artist. as a result, the money she earned in a year was just enough to make ends meet...

there is no michelle yeoh or "ah jin" in the 2021 "dragon tiger warrior", only some old people who were once high-spirited.

the movies of 2021 are nothing like the movies of 1996—

pili died, but ajin continues to live with his child, and "tomorrow will be better" still exists in melancholy and sigh.

the film can also invite many people to make cameo appearances, and everyone has a certain respect for the martial arts. for example, okada satoshi, huang jianuo, lu yonghang, meng hai, zhang jiahui, lin weiliang, yi tianxiong, wu yaohan, zheng zeshi, guo jinyan, liu qiaofang (formerly known as liu yucui) made guest appearances, liu guochang, liu songren, chen desen, lu dun, wei qiuhua, jessica hsuan, cao rong, yip wing cho, yan hao, wen jun, lam chiu-wing, guan boxuan...

this is not the case in 2021. the elderly are left with only melancholy and sighs.

the elderly are too old to take care of the young. after all, how can they take care of children if they don’t have food to eat?

"i could buy a car in a month back then, and there were always beautiful women around me, buying houses was no problem. but i was really miserable. when i was down and out, i had to sell blood..." said the old martial artists.

in the new century, martial artists are somewhat evasive when talking about things, such as grudges in the underworld, the underworld, private life, etc. they prefer to recall their past glory and do not want people today to see their old and sick appearance.

so "ah jin" actually became ann hui's love letter to the hong kong martial arts industry.

between the lines, there are the once stubborn faces of "ajin" and "pili".

producer | editor-in-chief:tan fei

executive editor:luo xinzhu