KUNG FU Shapes Up For Giddens Ko’s Latest Film Adaptation In New Stills
Golden Horse is at the Marche du Film touting its package with the rest of the global film bunch at Cannes. Included in the slate is Kung Fu, ten years in the making and now adapted for the screen by Giddens Ko (Mon Mon Mon Monsters, Miss Shampoo) whose own 2005 novel serves as the basis for the new martial arts flick he directs.
High school loser student Yuan accidentally aids a bullied, homeless man, only to find out later that this man is a Kung Fu master resurrected for a 500-year entanglement with his berserk, evil fellow swordsman. Present day, Yuan and his own fellow Ah-yi are taken as disciples by the master. At first, they enjoy following the master’s order to uphold justice, while also earning a brief satisfaction and the favor of Yi-jing, another female disciple. But soon they will also face the hard side of humanity, learn about the insufficiency of themselves and taste the bitter reality in a hard way, as the fight between the master and his rival escalates.
Produced by Lu Wei-chun for Taipei-based Machi Xcelsior Studios, Ko’s new film also reteams him with actor/filmmaker Kai Ko, who directed 2022’s Bad Education which the former Ko penned. They are rejoined by that film’s cast, Leon Dai and Berant Zhu, and are accompanied by action choreographer Chang Jae-wook and his five-member Triple A stunt team out of South Korea.
Check out a quartet of stills below!
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