Tian xia wu zei

I don't know a lot about Chinese film but I've seen some of the recent Kung fu hits (House of flying daggers, Redcliff, all entertaining for their genre but fairly empty productions) and this one is a real gem--a tight well woven plot, touching and interesting characters and some classic Chinese hero traits (think superhuman abilities that often defy gravity) suavely transposed into the world of petty thieves with a light and gentle touch that makes you almost forget some of the gestures are probably physically impossible. The music score is pitch perfect, light, jazzy, with just a hint of something deeper and sadder.

The acting is superb and the script really keeps you guessing. Scenes hover somewhere between outright hilarity, touching irony, and fleeting hints of the genuinely tragic. There is rarely a false note and the actor who plays the intellectually limited villager pulls off a terrific balancing act: he manages to be naive and rustic without slipping into Forest Gumpy type nonsense....

Well worth the viewing...