Shaolin Soccer

Reviewed by Rich Drees

     Every so often a film comes along that has a freshness to it that is simply a joy to behold. The Hong Kong comedy Shaolin Soccer is one such film.

     Sing (Stephen Chow) is a former Shaolin monk looking to find a way to fulfill his master’s dying wish of bringing the teachings of the Shaolin to the public. Sing teams with Fung (Ng Man Tat), a former soccer star who allowed himself to be disgraced in a scandal years earlier, to form a soccer team consisting of his former fellow monks from his temple. Although resistant to the idea at first, the monks join Sing in forming a team to enter in a national soccer tournament. Opposing them is Hung (Patrick Tse Yin), the head of the soccer association, orchestrater of Fung’s humiliation and owner of a team that is strengthened through drugs and rigorous experimental training regimes. The two teams meet in a final match that is nothing like you would ever see on ESPN.

     Shaolin Soccer’s story is simple, and that’s where its genius lies. It’s a tale of reclaiming honor and one’s sense of personal worth. Sing’s brother monks have been out in the world too long and have found that the specialized training they received has not prepared them for modern society. Unlike Sing, they have lost their faith in the teachings they learned and are struggling to fit in to what is for them an alien environment. There’s also no moral ambiguity to the story. You know exactly who the bad guys are. (The opposing tem is called Team Evil, for goodness sakes.)

     The movie is pure cinema, with a visual wit, energy and imagination that will evoke laughter of surprise and delight. Players fly through the air in the style of the old Shaw Brothers kung fu films, spinning and whirling as they move the ball down the field for a goal. Balls are kicked with such power that they threaten to burst into flame, but are still stopped dead by a goalie’s calmly outstretched hand.

     Chow goes all out to get his audience to laugh, demonstrating ability at physical humor that definitely transcends the language barrier. Some of Chow’s wordplay might not work as well when translated to English, but that’s forgivable here. This movie strives to please and it does. Chow even manages to bring new life to that oldest of slapstick clichés, slipping on a banana peel. To say more though would ruin several of the surprises that the film contains.

     Shaolin Soccer has been sitting on distributor Miramax’s shelf for two years now as they have tried to figure out exactly how to present it to American audiences. Meanwhile, the film built up a cult following among Hong Kong movie fans who have imported the DVD from Asia. Those who have only seen the imported version might be a little disappointed with the release. Although the original language soundtrack has been retained the film has been trimmed from its near two-hour length to a sparse 87 minutes. (This is an odd reversal on the part of Miramax as the version they supplied last year to the Tribecca Film Festival in New York City ran one hour fifty-one minutes and contained a rather disappointing English dub soundtrack.) Even in a truncated form the film is entertaining and makes for a pleasant diversion from many of the American comedies that don’t exhibit a fraction of this film’s wit and energy.