The Monk and The Samurai
The lives of two men, a monk and a samurai suffer unbearable loss. Heroic to the end their tales intertwine as they battle with the chaos, redemption, justice and vengeance within.
Recently, I was approached with a review offer from Troy’s Team group located in Beijing. From what I know, they are a team of martial artists who worked on several big Chinese productions, such as Kung Fu Yoga (2017) or Ip Man 4 (2019), but they focus on movie production as well.
The latest result of their efforts is a short film called The Monk and The Samurai (2022). A 10 minutes long tale about two individuals influenced and moulded by a traumatic event. The film is primarily a collection of animated images intertwined with live-action clips. I am not an expert in editing, but the seamless transition between the effects made me think whether the filmmakers had use the popular rotoscoping technique to achieve the desired effect. All in all, the visuals are indeed pleasant for the eye. With regard to the storyline, it is straightforward and easy to follow; this is mainly thanks to a skilful narration by John M. Shang. In fact, director Troy Sandford stated that the film was inspired by an idea to create a book “of short bed time martial art stories ideal for kids and adults” (source: presskit). Indeed, The Monk and The Samurai short feels very much like a bedtime tale to be enjoyed by parents and their children. The film perfectly encapsulates in a nutshell the spirit of ancient Asian myths about gallant warriors trying to do justice in the times of hardship. All things considered, The Monk and The Samurai is a well-made short film, and I sincerely hope that more “episodic tales” like that will be made in the future by Troy’s Team. My respect goes to the creators and all the actors involved in the project. «Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»
