Rickshaw Driver (1974, HK; Taiwan?)

Starring: Chiang-lung Wen, Yan-yung Tso, Ping Lu. Directed by: Joseph Kuo

This movie was obviously shot on an extremely low budget and as such it suffers from all the shortfalls of a low-budget kung fu film. That is, horrible film quality, the occasional recycled shot, "mountains" in the background behind the actor that fall over during filming, and so on. Despite all this, "Rickshaw Driver" is a very dark kung-fu movie that explores the themes of grief and vengeance and it has a storyline that's very straight-forward and easy to understand.

In "Rickshaw Driver," a young man (Chiang) in his late teens named Ah Fung is working in a Chinese town as a rickshaw driver and making an honest living for himself and his mom. He has a girlfriend, loves to put his fairly average kung fu skills to use in fights, and loves to read kung fu comic books. Ah Fung's world is turned upside-down when he overhears a local man in an argument with a brutal Japanese gang known as the "Deadly Four" and some Chinese Quislings to basically take over the village and use it for Japanese purposes. The man is killed and they discover Ah Fung listening in. They chase him down and try to kill him, but fail. He makes it back town and the gang proceeds to tear the town apart and kill anyone hiding him. They wipe out the local kung fu school and, eventually, his entire family.

After losing almost everyone he has ever known, Ah Fung sets out on a quest for vengeance. He is nearly killed several times by the Deadly Four and his kung fu skills are obviously not enough to take these guys down. Can he learn some new techniques to take on the Deadly Four?

Chiang-lung Wen does an excellent job playing the part of Ah Fung and you can see all the grief and anger in his face. If this movie were ever released in the original Mandarin or Cantonese version(s), his performance would probably be even more powerful to watch.

POSSIBLE SPOILER:
While you may have a hard time watching this movie due to the film quality and the first half might be a bit iffy, the movie really takes off when Ah Fung sets off to get his revenge. Also, his kung fu gets bloodier as the movie progresses. That is, lots of tearing through ribcages, skull-crushing, and more. END SPOILER

All in all this is a powerful kung fu flick that you might want to see if you like the more low-budgeted movies. Also, be prepared for a fairly emotional tear-jerker of an ending!

Cameo: Bruce Li?

Also known as: Rikisha kuri (original title), Da che fu (Mandarin title-Taiwan), Kung Fu - Zwei Handkanten aus Granit (West Germany), Rickshaw Man (English DVD title)