LAND OF THE BRAVE is a surprisingly vicious little kung fu film from Hong Kong, with a Chinese-vs-Japanese theme. The story is about a peaceful village inhabited by youthful hero Cheung Lik and his family. There's one bad seed in the form of a sadistic cigarette-smoker who whips a nude woman in slow motion in an arresting scene early on in the picture. This bad guy quickly teams up with an invading Japanese army who take over the local power station and begin to oppress the villagers.
Lik and his buddies take up arms against the foreign invaders and plenty of low rent action ensues. The fight choreography is basic to say the least but at least there's plenty of action to take your mind off that. The Japanese and in particular the cigarette-smoking sadist are portrayed in the worst terms so it's easy to hate them. The plot consists of the usual underlings and loved ones being killed off, various kidnappings and the like, until the big fight climax. The bits where the women in the brothel are rescued and a bad guy is scalped are entertaining, and overall this film works despite the usual problems inherent in low budget action cinema.
Lik and his buddies take up arms against the foreign invaders and plenty of low rent action ensues. The fight choreography is basic to say the least but at least there's plenty of action to take your mind off that. The Japanese and in particular the cigarette-smoking sadist are portrayed in the worst terms so it's easy to hate them. The plot consists of the usual underlings and loved ones being killed off, various kidnappings and the like, until the big fight climax. The bits where the women in the brothel are rescued and a bad guy is scalped are entertaining, and overall this film works despite the usual problems inherent in low budget action cinema.