The Single-armed Holy Nun

The Single-armed Holy Nun

Dir: Chan Lit-bun
Scr: Szeto On
Orig Story: Wong Heung-kam
Cast: Suet Nei, Lui Kay, Lee Kui-on, Sek Kin
1969 / Colour / D Beta / Cantonese / 85min

Most of the wuxia films written by Szeto On were directed by Ling Yun. When Chan Lit-bun quit Hong Kong Film Company in 1969, Szeto On finally had the chance to work with this important director of Cantonese wuxia movies. In that year, they collaborated on four wuxia movies, one of which was The Single-armed Holy Nun. The quick change from one scene to the next was a characteristic of Chan Lit-bun. The original story was serialised in Sing Pao and had a very complex plot. It could only be fragmentarily told in one film. Szeto On focused on a few stories. In the first part, he writes from Wah Wan-piu's point of view (Lui Kay), showing his radical transformation. A military man with poor martial arts skills, he gradually discovered his talents. The middle section is about how he helps the amnesiac Man Fung-chi (Suet Nei) to recover her memory. First, he abducts Man Fung-chi and remoulds her. Then, Man Fung-chi abducts him in return and tries to do the same to him. By reversing their roles, Szeto On skilfully uses contrast to show that Man Fung-chi is developing feelings for him.


Date Time Venue
24/5/2015 (Sun) 5:00pm Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

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