Pried from the archives of Lumière's very first issue, DOMINIC AMOS wrote on Stephen Chow – the comedic mastermind behind HK's highest ever-grossing film, Shaolin Soccer, and the future surrounding its astronomic success.


STEPHEN CHOW. It is a name very reminiscent of Jackie Chan. A name where the enlightenment of the East meets the glitz of the West. Though this is not where the similarities between the two stop. Both are actors who have had a heavy grounding within the Hong Kong industry, each with many devoted fans. However, whereas Jackie Chan specialised as a martial artist spliced with humour, Stephen Chow's primary vocation is within comedy. Circumstances have therefore not been so fortunate for the last shining light of Hong Kong cinema, and he has continued to remain below the radar of popular culture.

The fact that Stephen Chow specialises in comedy is at the centre of the problems he has faced in trying to break through into the American market. Comedy remains one of the hardest genres of films to translate. Whereas art house foreign films can gain from appearing more distant and ambiguous, comedy does not translate so well with many of its nuances being lost. Even though this is a significant problem, Chow is a remarkable slapstick artist and much of his appeal remains universal.

Looking at his older body of work, many films appear amateurish and somewhat romanticised by his legions of fans. However, only from viewing his past work can an understanding of the similar characters he constantly plays be gained. His characters are generally flawed heroes who possess extreme talents in a given area. It is this flawed nature that makes his portrayals more intriguing to view and at times adds a more realistic edge to situations than they deserve. Often being knocked off his pedestal from being too self-absorbed, his characters will often chase financial gain or fame with revenge a secondary motive. This is all the more forgiving given the undercurrents of a class struggle between the rich and the poor often shown at certain levels in his films. One of Chow's major flaws constantly remains his bizarre and nearly misogynous relationships he tends to have with his female leads. He always seems to be able to get the girl no matter what she endures at his hands.

There has been a significant shift in recent times though, where he has gained more control and become more ambitious in the direction of his career. His major directorial breakthrough (following the James Bond parody From Beijing with Love and Forbidden City Cop) came with The God of Cookery, a story about a chef's fall from grace and his journey to regain his crown. In this film, the originality of mixing cuisine and Kung Fu flourishes and not a scene is wasted with the schizophrenic shenanigans that ensue. The film managed to reach various film festivals, but the payoff never quite transpired. There was rumour of an American remake staring Jim Carey with Chow given some role in this, but this never came to fruition.

Time moved on and it seemed that Chow would never get his chance to make a breakthrough. Then he did it striking pure gold, making Shaolin Soccer in 2001; the irony being that from not being previously accepted by Hollywood he went on to make Hong Kong's highest grossing film. The story concerns itself with a brotherhood of monks who have never been able to showcase the wonders of the Shaolin monastery to the world. They each go their separate ways only to be reunited for a million dollar soccer tournament, with each awakening their inner power. This all leads to a climatic showdown between Chow's XI and "The Evil Team", who display enhanced powers via experimental American drugs.

This outstandingly inventive film uses wirework to showcase its comedy. It was made directly after the popularisation of wirework that The Matrix was a catalyst for and is perhaps the best reply from the home of the art form. There is simply only one film where you will see soccer players flying through the air to perform bicycle kicks or using a soccer ball as a lethal weapon to ward off a group of thugs.

Miramax promptly purchased the picture for distribution and this is where things began to turn to custard. Instead of simply releasing the film in its current form, Miramax went about reediting and dubbing it into English. Perhaps the dubbing is understandable considering that nature of comedy is deemed hard to convey in a foreign language, but to make upwards of eighty cuts to the film and remove Chow's control along with twenty minutes of the running time is simply inexcusable. Originally scheduled to be released in coordination with the 2002 Soccer World Cup, Shaolin Soccer was yet again delayed and robbed of the perfect release date. It could be possible that Shaolin Soccer has become a victim of its own initial success with Miramax seeing so much potential within the film that they did everything in their power to squeeze out all the financial gain they saw out of it.

Having seen both the original and the new incarnation of this film, the comparisons are quite shocking no matter how accepting you try to be. Seeing the dubbed version definitely adds a bizarre surrealism to proceedings; however, the context of the dialogue has changed so considerably significant portions of the film appear to have been completely rewritten. Much of Stephen Chow's edginess is now replaced by Disney rhetoric where he now stoops so low as to mutter, "You can do it if you believe in yourself".

The quirky nature of the film has also been considerably toned down. The somewhat violent tendencies has been tamed whereas characters will no longer vomit, and sledgehammer swipes will no longer be seen to connect. There will also be no making fun of fat people, nor will communal laughs at the female lead be tolerated. Not even a clear shot of a pig carcass slung over a butchers shoulder will be seen. I guess that vegetarians may be insulted by such an image. Even an interesting plot thread has been left behind. Individually, these changes have little effect but collectively they only prove to sanitise the film.

With so much running time shaved, the characters also become just cardboard cut-outs of what they once were. This therefore turns the new incarnation of the film into a generic action picture when it originally offered so much more. Instead of having time to develop the five brothers, we are now shuttled from action sequence to action sequence. As such it is hard to remain as emotionally attached to the characters as you should. Perhaps the new tagline of "Get Ready to Kick Some Grass" should serve as enough warning to what can now be expected.

Shaolin Soccer currently awaits its American release in August1. These delays have been unfortunate, as much of the film's potential influence that it could have had will now be lost. This is to say that it will be viewed from a 2003 perspective, a world where every major action film is saturated with wirework and superfluous action. This will mean that Shaolin Soccer, which was at the forefront of this popularisation, will now be compared to these newer films, its originality and inspiring nature diminished when quite the opposite was true. That said, Shaolin Soccer in any form is a film that tries to achieve more than most, and coupled with an audience who is now conditioned to expect style over substance, there may be smiles of many kinds.

What will become of Stephen Chow after the Shaolin Soccer release is not known. Perhaps the American audience will thoroughly enjoy the Miramax incarnation of Shaolin Soccer and finally allow him to break through. However in doing so, part of what made Stephen Chow so intriguing will be lost and he will become just another filmmaker who loses the explosive spark they once had. Let us hope that he at least attains the dream of pocketing a handsome sum of money like the characters he has constantly portrayed. For such a man there would probably be no better story. And in such a world that is probably as good as it can get.