Review of The Rebel - Toronto After Dark
1922. Colonial Vietnam. The long-standing French occupation of the country has inflamed anti-French sentiments, triggering guerilla forces to rise up against the foreign invaders. In response, the French employ elite units of Vietnamese agents to track down and destroy these rebels.
The story follows Cuong, an undercover agent of the French. Tired of bloodshed, Cuong helps Thuy escape French forces in order to save her rebel village. Plagued by patriotic obligations, Cuong is unsure of where his loyalty lies when he is confronted with the brutal reality of French rule and his own humanity reflected in Thuy’s eyes.
Official Site: http://www.therebelmovie.com
Reviews: Variety, Twitch Film and Asia Pacific Arts (capsule)
Media Kit: http://www.vangusa.org/doc/TheRebel_mediakit.pdf
Our Review
My expectations were fairly high going into the Rebel. Of all the movies being shown at Toronto After Dark this was the one I was hoping would be the five star movie that would make the entire festival worth while just by itself. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high or perhaps the technical glitches (not the fault of Toronto After Dark) lessened my enjoyment enough that The Rebel fell a behind both Aachi and Ssipak and also Blood Car. Even though it did not live up to my expectations I do have to say that The Rebel is a damn fine entry in the Martial Arts with a story genre.
The reason everyone most of us were in the theatre for this showing was not the story it was the kicks and The Rebel definitely delivers. There were several fight scenes that had both the audience clapping and cheering. The final set piece fighting in and in front of the train has to be seen to be believed. I’m not sure how they timed it so perfect but it sure looks to me that one of the kicks managed to break the neck of the nameless schmoe fighting the main character. This is top notch fight choreography that can hold its own with any other martial arts film out there.
In addition to the top notch fight choreography The Rebel has a compelling story. The story revolves around Le Van Cuong a secret policeman working for the French in 1920s Vietnam. He rescues one of the rebels after he can no longer stand the torturing and the secret plotting by his superior. The hero and heroine flee from the police lead by his brutal and nearly indestructible superior. The chase leads through three or four set pieces where the hero proves himself to the heroine and they of course fall in love. Overall it is a pretty straight forward story but it is told well and is quite compelling.
The one place I will fault the movie is that one or two times it went to far in making his superior be a bit too indestructible. I’m all for shrugging off kicks and hits but when someone slices a knife across your neck it should break the skin. This is just a minor aspect that bothers me and it is a standard of many previous martial arts movies so I can not fault The Rebel too much.
The more I think on it, the more I liked the Rebel and I plan on revisiting it once I get the chance to see a pristine copy. The glitches in the audio and missing subtitles did not ruin the movie for me but it did lessen my enjoyment. Even with these problems though The Rebel is a strong entry in the genre and I’m going to keep my eye out for Johnny Nguyen’s next film. I’ll give The Rebel 4 out of 5 stars.
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