For inexperienced viewers who are not particularly interested in Chinese culture, the film “Shaolin Monks: The Wheel of Life” will surely seem a very refined spectacle. It's a shame, but very few ordinary people watch movie performances, perhaps because they don’t particularly understand this genre, although they are not much more often in the theater.
Even the advertised musical “Cats” is not particularly in demand, but its specificity differs significantly from the performance about the kung fu of the monks from Shaolin. This is understandable: the makeup artists singing in English are perceived by the audience as unprepared consciousness much easier than those who shout it is not clear that the bald Chinese novices. The whole world has long known how Shaolin monks look like. Photos of them, by the way, are quite aggressive and their emotionality is very different from the stereotype that has developed in the brain thanks to our Slavic mentality.
Shaolin monks practice kung fu, dress in orange and almost spit in their faces the laws of gravity, which is interesting in itself.
Such strange, dangerous and unlike us Chinese
The whole action of the film resembles a performance of a Chinese circus.
There is no mention of a complexly twisted plot, but there are plenty of very beautiful music and amazing acrobatic tricks. The only thing that the Shaolin Monks movie show boasts is a hint of a deep historical plot. There is no acting as such, it is not implied, because the emphasis is placed on the continuous demonstration of kung fu techniques. The storyline is viewed there very schematically and with great difficulty. The decent part of the action that the wanderers did was a big mystery to the viewer. With all due respect to
Chinese culture, language and traditions, several times in earnest it may seem that some leading actors suffer from an epileptic seizure. Although, maybe all
Shaolin monks are so eccentric, but such behavior helps them achieve victory in fights.
Eccentricity is almost always a guarantee of success.
Particularly impressive are the very small pupils of the monastery who write such pirouettes on the stage that the viewer only has time to lift his jaw from the floor. Respect for their colorful activities while watching wakes up as if by itself, and not too clear moments do not spoil the overall impression.
A strange fact: from what the Shaolin monks do on stage, it was the British who guessed to concoct the film. At the beginning of the film’s narrative, a good British announcer slightly introduces an uninitiated viewer into the course of affairs, but when the main action begins, he becomes silent for a long time. It would be much clearer if the voiceover, at least sometimes somehow commented on what was happening, then the impression would be more complete. Definitely this creation can be safely recommended for viewing to those who are interested in martial arts, the culture of China or the East in general, as well as to all lovers of an unusual format.
Total
The film performance “Shaolin Monks: Wheel of Life” can be called a strange, but very spectacular and worthy representative of the genre. I would like to someday get the opportunity to see something like this on a real scene, and not on a small monitor of an old computer.