NINE-RING GOLDEN DAGGER -- Song Dynasty Period Piece Delivers Great Action with Propaganda

Review by Daniel Lima

“They just don’t make them like they used to.” These days I find myself thinking this about almost everything: cars, electronics, news publications, social policies. This particular lamentation feels the most powerful when I watch an old Hong Kong action movie, see the ornate choreography and death-defying stunt work, and realize that silly notions like unions and workplace safety mean these could never be made today. The closest that contemporary cinema comes to scratching that itch are the mainland Chinese streaming releases. Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is the latest example to get a stateside release from Well Go, and another solid example of recapturing a bit of that past glory.

The Generals of the Yang Family is less an individual epic story, and more a collage of different fictional accounts of the life of the very real General Yang Ye and his descendants across the 10th and 11th centuries. In this particular tale, two of his daughters seek to recover his blade from the enemy forces that killed him. Pursued by this foreign army, they hole up at an inn owned by a sympathetic wine seller, and plan an escape home.

It is important to note that General Yang Ye served the Han-ruled Northern Song Dynasty, and died fighting the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty (the Khitans being a nomadic steppe people that later assimilated into the Mongols). The film uses the term “Northern Expedition” to define the war he fought in, a term more commonly used for the war for reunification waged by the Republic of China in the 1930’s. Thus, the film makes a connection between the border wars of dynasties past, and the building of the modern nation state of China.

I freely admit that I am by no means an expert on Chinese history or culture, and plenty may have gone over my head. That being said, it is clear that this film furthers the notion of Han ethnic supremacy within China, and the idea that China is a distinct Han nation state. For centuries, the steppes people and other ethnic minorities within China have been portrayed as barbarian, and in this film the Han that administered the Han-dominated southern part of the Liao territory are treated as traitors of kind and country. It strikes me as an ahistorical way of framing this history, more interested in toeing present-day nationalist rhetoric than capturing life at the time.

If it seems I’m more overly concerned with the political messaging of the film than the characters, there’s a reason for that: so is the movie. Largely a cast of unknowns and supporting players who have been working the past couple decades, the actors are given precious little to work with in bringing these people to life. The bad guys are unambiguously evil, the good guys are valiant and very concerned with honor and national pride, and the one comic relief guy bumbles around oafishly. It’s not even worth learning their names.

Fortunately, a good chunk of the film is just action set pieces, and on that front it delivers. Though the film takes place almost entirely in one location, there is clear thought in differentiating the fight scenes through the goals of the fighters, the weapons they use as well as how they manipulate the environment, and the tone of the bouts. Rather than the steady, long take medium shots that have to typify the best American action direction for the past decade, the film hearkens back to an older tradition: close ups to emphasize attacks, cutting to generate a sense of momentum, a mobile camera. Most importantly, the wushu-based choreography is beautiful to behold, and every instance of wire work brought a smile to my face. It may not stand out too much among its mainland Chinese DTV peers, but it’s certainly a cut above its contemporaries here.

It might seem like this is very faint praise for an otherwise problematic movie, but it must be emphasized that at about ninety minutes, most of Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is devoted to the action. The fact that it succeeds in artfully delivering some gratifying fights at a time when so few films do is enough keep it constantly engaging. Though the aims of its propaganda are insidious to say the least, even then there is something interesting in how history from over a millennia ago is adapted to reflect modern values, as defined by the CCP. Even if its hard to stomach, there’s nothing like a three-on-one spear and sword fight to provide some relief.

Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is now available on digital and home video.

Rating: 4/5