The Legend is Alive
The Legend is Alive not your normal “kick everyone’s ass” Kung Fu movie. This movie is less a Kung Fu movie and more of a love story, not the typical boy meets girl love story, but a story of unconditional love. The kind of unconditional love shared between mothers and sons. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this movie.
Our story centers around Ly Tieu Long (Justin Nguyen) a mentally challenged man, fresh off the bus with a final destination of America. Funny thing is Long asks bus drivers, cab drivers and almost everyone how to get to America. It takes no time to see that Long is out of his element. Not long after he steps off the bus, Long runs into trouble with two thugs who try to con him out of his cash. At this point we begin unwrapping the onion that is Long’s life. Though suffering from developmental disabilities, Long is a kung Fu master practiced in numerous arts: Jeet Ku Do (created by Bruce Lee) Muay Thai, and Tae Kwan Do. This mastery of Kung Fu comes from his mother’s teachings.
The first half tells Long’s life story. We see Long beginning Kung Fu training, being bullied by students at school and in general trying to make it in the world. During this time we see a mother’s love for her challenged child blossom. She takes extra care to train Long in the disciplines of while instilling in him prime directives of Kung Fu, “Use Kung fu for defense not offense”. Long really lives this, getting his ass kicked and later offering forgiveness to his attackers.
One item I appreciated with this movie was how it reinforced Longs current predicaments with exposition from his past. It’s nice to see the fullness of a character develop in this way.
After leaving home, we find Long searching for America ultimately befriending a 17 year old girl headed off to meet her new boyfriend she met online. The conversations between Long and this girl are highly entertaining. The young lady tries explaining computers, online chat and cell phones to someone who probably has never seen a television. Let’s just say the conversation is cute. The story moves from the country into the city of Da Nang. It’s in Da Nang we find Long helping the young girl with trouble she find herself in.
The cinematography of this film is facinating. I find myself loving the movies coming out of Asia more and more. Especially the ones coming out of China, Hong Kong and now I’ll add Vietnam. The cinematography of these films is remarkable, The Legend is Alive is no exception. We have sweeping landscapes, gritty city scenes and remarkably 40 years later burned out remains of the Vietnam War. I wish American film makers would spend some time watching these films.
If you are looking for a unique Kung Fu love story check out the Legend is Alive.
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