I watched this film several times–not just for the poetic artistry, but for the cinematography. Older films are quite relaxing to watch; what I noticed is the hero’s shocking resemblance to Christ. He is the Servant Leader who chooses to lead a quiet life. So, let me explain why I believe so.

The story is about an orphan, the son of a servant belonging to a prestigious martial arts school, famous for its swordsmanship. In the opening of the film, the assassin attempts to assassinate the headmaster, teacher Qi, but fails. Instead, the protagonist’s father dies in his place. At the mercy of the protagonist’s father, the headmaster promises to train the orphan like one of his nephews as his disciple. The headmaster treats the orphan well. However, the orphan never sees himself as above a servant. He continues to accept his social status as a servant. This hard-headed, arrogant personality irritates the headmaster’s daughter who has taken a liking to him. Yet, he refuses to acknowledge her by name. He is aware of his social status.

Rejecting the headmaster’s daughter, who resembles a spoiled brat princess, causes lethal consequences. They say a woman’s wrath is quick-tempered, unforeseen, and unpredictable like the changing weather–one moment it’s sunny, and then in a flick of an eye, it’s pouring rain. She chops off the orphan hero’s right arm after losing a duel with the hero, who only uses his two bare hands. The hero, although shocked, will not lay a hand on the headmaster’s daughter out of respect for his benefactor. He flees and falls into the river. Luckily, he falls into the boat of a maiden.

The maiden happens to be an orphan as well. So she quickly feels a connection with the orphan hero. As time progresses, the hero is nursed back to health. One day, while they were outside fishing, two martial artist bullies noticed the couple. They start harassing the maiden, humiliating the hero in front of his face. The hero is frustrated because he cannot defend her.

And so…the maiden offers him a powerful martial arts book. This book contains only the left-handed portion. We learn from the maiden that the martial arts book was thrown into the fire because the maiden’s mother blamed the book for taking her husband’s life. Magically, it seems that this book is meant for the hero. He becomes stronger with the new martial arts technique than when he still had his right arm.

This new technique helps the hero defend himself. It also helps him face Smiling Tiger, who has captured the headmaster’s daughter. To make the story short, the headmaster’s daughter is saved, and the bad guys are eliminated. The hero is then given praise for being a true martial artist worthy to become the headmaster’s successor. But the hero turns down this recognition and leadership. His father died because of martial arts. The maiden’s father died because of martial arts. The hero chooses to abandon the martial arts world. He decides to become a farmer. He lives a peaceful life with the country girl who saved him.

From time to time, I enjoy a feel-good story, especially a humble one. The hero is a farmer, maimed, and a simple man. What I find so admirable about the protagonist is how he sticks to his true self. He has always identified himself as a servant. Even as the leader, he continues to fight like a servant. He uses his strength to protect and not to harm others. As the saying goes, lead by example. From watching the film, I realized something. Sometimes the manliest of men is the one who lives a quiet, simple life, or at least he attempts to.

Originally published Sept. 05, 2019; Revised Feb, 13 2025.