Director King Hu (1932–1997) was a major figure in wuxia filmmaking. Produced twenty-five years after his passing, The King of Wuxia celebrates the work of this epoch-making master and explores his passion for and pursuit of cinematic art in two parts.

Part I—The Prophet was Once Here

The first part unveils the works of Hu in a chronological order. It features analyses by scholars and critics and interviews with figures who have worked with Hu in the past, including Hsu Feng, Cheng Pei-pei, Wang Toon, Tsui Hark, John Woo, and Sammo Hung. The episode then follows Taiwanese actor Shih Chun, one of Hu’s frequent collaborators, to the shooting locations featured in his works. Through time and space, the film gradually reveals Hu’s filmmaking methods, artistic style, and the demeanour and madness he had shown in creating art.

Part II—The Heartbroken Man on the Horizon

Part II details King Hu’s life as a wanderer without a place to anchor, from Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, to the United States. The Heartbroken Man on the Horizon looks at how Hu’s fate is reflected in his oeuvre and artistic career. In his late years, Hu continued his effort on a film about Chinese railway workers in California, but the film's production never began. Although Hu was once a maker of a new era, he was a solitary hero lost amid the tumults of an era he helped create.

The film will be screened with a ten-minute intermission between Part I and II.

The screening on 23 April will be followed by a post-screening talk with M+ Curator-at-large of Hong Kong Film and Media Li Cheuk-to after Part I.

Lin Jing-jie (b. 1967, Taiwan) is a writer and director. He has explored different areas of the arts including writing, filmmaking, and theatre. Lin’s works have been shown at international film festivals including the Venice Film Festival, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, and the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam. His The Most Distant Course won Critic’s Week Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2007.