Shaolin: A movie of redemption and sacrifice

Shaolin Temple. 

The Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, wrote: “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life” (The Decay of Lying – An Observation, 1889).

There is a certain amount of truth in Wilde’s observation, particularly in relation to technology, mores and propaganda. For a time, Hollywood produced war movies that glorified and idealised violence and war as a means to its political agenda, without examining the cost of suffering to the innocent victims of war. The Chinese movie Shaolin, with its underlying Buddhist message of redemption, sacrifice and peace, does not shy away from violence. However, it also shows the consequences for the general populace of corruption, violence, internal conflict and foreign exploitation.

Shaolin is set during China’s Warlord period (1916–1928). During this tumultuous era of fragmentation, regional military leaders vied for power, wealth and territory. The protagonist, Hou Jie, is portrayed as a ruthless warlord who uses anyone and anything to his advantage in amassing wealth, power and position. He plots to assassinate his sworn brother to gain full control, but his plan is thwarted by the betrayal of his ambitious second-in-command, Cao, who sends assassins to kill them all. Hou’s sworn brother is killed, as are many of Hou’s men and Hou’s innocent daughter is critically injured as she attempts to escape the violence.

His love for his daughter and his desperation to save her lead Hou to a Shaolin temple, where he seeks the monks’ help, but their efforts are in vain. His daughter dies. His wife blames him for her death and leaves him. He has lost his family, his army of men and his power base: in one night, he lost everything. In his grief, he wanders aimlessly and encounters the temple cook who provides him not only with food and shelter but also the beginning of his conversion. During his stay at the temple Hou gradually sees the error of his ways, embraces the monastic lifestyle of calm and serenity and finally finds peace. 

As the film unfolds, Cao, the new warlord, forms an alliance with foreign powers who supply weapons that cause even more havoc, suffering, human trafficking and the death of innocent people. Hou, torn between his newfound peace and the need to end Cao’s reign of terror, decides that Cao must be stopped.

Hou and the Shaolin monks plan a diversion. Hou is to distract Cao while the monks enter the camp to save the many innocents imprisoned there. The monks succeed in freeing those imprisoned and Cao, driven by revenge, attacks the temple with heavy artillery supplied by his foreign allies. In the course of the battle, many are killed, both soldiers and monks. The temple is destroyed. In the final scene, Hou saves Cao from being crushed by a heavy falling beam, at the cost of his own life. Hou is seen gently falling into the hand of the statue of the Merciful Buddha, where he dies peacefully. Cao steps out of the temple ruins and sees the total devastation and death that surround him. Guilt seems to overshadow him. From a distance, the surviving monks, with the many saved innocents, look down and move on to new hope and a new beginning.

The film’s message of redemption is seen through the lens of forgiveness. Hou’s wife forgives him; he forgives himself; and in the end, he forgives Cao. Redemption leads to sacrifice. His wife releases him to return to a monk’s life, sacrificing the life she once imagined for them. Hou’s self-sacrifice to save Cao leads to Cao’s redemption. The movie ends with the note that personal and communal sacrifices lead to peace.

In our current world, where violence, internal conflicts and wars are constant themes in the news, perhaps we can reflect on the consequences of our choices that lead to chaos and strife. If Wilde is correct that life imitates art, then let us be hopeful that we can still find redemption in the hearts of good people willing to make sacrifices that bring about our peace. I pray that, in the hands of God, we will all find peace.

Columban Fr George Da Roza lives and works in the USA.