For the majority of the general audience in the Western world, Asian cinema consists of either horrors or beautiful, fairy-tale stories that are probably best remembered for all the acrobat-like movements in the air. Which is surprising as we should know better considering the many different, mainly Japanese and Chinese, genres that have inspired the powerful neighbor to the east to produce remakes as well as independent films. The contribution, Kung Fu Hustle, is further proof of the heterogeneity among Asian films.

Sing (Stephen Chow) has big plans for his life. As a child, he was told that he was destined to do great things for the good of the world by using a very special and very unusual Kung Fu technique, which involves defeating your opponent with just one palm. But Sing soon discovered that this technique was not quite so simple and his palm not as powerful as he thought. So instead of saving the world, he decides to become as villainous as possible. As this career also seems doomed to failure, Sing tries to give it new life by applying, together with his crony, for membership in the infamous mafia Yx gang. This party consists of a large number of black-clad men equipped with, you guessed it, axes. After unsuccessfully trying to extort money from a hairdresser in the poor residential area , Sing manages to attract the attention of the leader of the Ax gang. But maybe not really in the way that Sing wanted, as his behavior gives rise to a violent conflict between the Yx gang and the residents of the residential area. He himself finds himself standing in no man's land.

According to the film's title, we should see, during the screening, a lot of Kung Fu practice and we do. Or to be honest, as I am not further acquainted with this martial art, it is impossible for me to distinguish Kung Fu from other similar disciplines. But since the movie is called Kung Fu Hustle and they talk about Kung Fu in the movie, I assume they also practice Kung Fu. The reason why I mention this is not to account for my knowledge or rather lack thereof, but to point out to all of you frowning at another fight movie that this is the first martial arts production (that I've seen) that never gets boring for us uninitiated. The reason is simple: The film is consistently really, really funny. And don't ask me to pick a favorite part because everything is fun in this movie, everything from the props to the lines.

But what I appreciate most is that Stephen Chow (the film's director and lead actor) dares to take down the Chinese film from the pedestal it has been on since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because of its beauty, by making Kung Fu Hustle into a mundane and slightly disheveled film. Now I hope no one will misunderstand me, with these two words I neither mean that various Kung Fu techniques appear in my everyday life nor that the film looks worn and sloppy. Because it is beautiful, but in an appropriate way, as it refuses to be perfect in terms of appearance. Thanks to this, you as a spectator, full of admiration for the film's surface, do not have to keep a respectful distance. Which you were, more or less, forced to do by the Chinese films previously, in much the same way as when you buy an unusually beautiful material thing and then do not dare to use it for fear of ruining it.

There is only one downside to Kung Fu Hustle, that it is so good that it risks being noticed by those in power in Hollywood and used as a template for an upcoming remake. Which would be devastating given the fate that usually awaits the films that find themselves in such a situation: As soon as the American remake sees the light of day, the foreign predecessors are relegated to the obscured shelves of video stores, observed in the future only by dedicated cineastes. But I may be exaggerating this concern.