The Swordmates

Another almost entirely forgettable low-grade wuxia film starring people who have done better work in better films. Shaw Brothers made so many of these in the late 60s that it’s honestly hard to figure out which one is which, or come up with something new to say for each review.

What makes writing about these films even trickier is that they are so incredibly bland. Far from creative, but also far from terrible. They just coast along in the muddy, uninteresting middle of the road. Blah.

But, for a few minutes at least, Swordmades looked like it was going to break out from the mediocre pack. After establishing a traditional “swordsman chasing a secret message” plot, the film quickly veered off in a new direction, tentatively exploring the petty jealousies that drive the women of the bandit clan; it appeared that the film’s second act would be instigated by hatred that bandit mistress Hsin-yin (Chiu Sam-Yin) feels towards her stepdaughter, the film’s hero, Yan-niang (Chin Ping).

But that story is quickly supplanted by more by-the-book plotting — vicious criminals, long-lost siblings, etc. Nothing new to see here, move along.

However, even unoriginal movies can be made well. But Swordmates never strives for that sort of quality. It’s content being a jambalaya of cliches — filling the time, but leaving no impression.

Swordmates appears to be the only Shaw Brothers movie directed by Cheung Ying, about whom I can find very little information. An actor by trade, Cheung Ying directed a few Cantonese movies in the '50s and '60s. Although he acted in films for over 50 years, The Swordmates was the last film he directed.

Cheung’s Cantonese background, along with that of co-director and writer Poon Faan, highlight Shaw Brother’s evolution from a northern, Mandarin-style studio to a southern, Cantonese one. Had the film been better, and a touch more Cantonese, perhaps it would be as well remembered as The Chinese Boxer.

The Swordmates
Dir: Cheung Ying
Released: October 18, 1969