Kung Fu Hustle - An Analysis

Note: This article contains full spoilers

How do we stay kind and a pacifist in a harsh and violent world? That is the main idea behind Stephen Chow's "Kungfu Hustle".

Pic 1: the poster shows the protagonist posing with a lolipop and an axe, indicating he has to choose between the two. The title card in the film too contrasts a gentle butterfly against hard stones.

Pic 2: There is a lot of emphasis on the destruction of weapons, especially guns. In the end, the protagonist turns a dangerous lotus like weapon into a flying toy thus removing it's hostility. It's important too that he didn't kill the main villain. Instead, he made him a subject of his authority - in line with pro-peace ideologies.

Pic 3: Harshness and gentleness exists side by side. The fight scenes and violence in the film is treated as dances with festivity or Guzheng music. Even when the protagonist tries to rob a woman, he is contrasted with a dance poster for comic relief.

Pic 4: The protagonist became hardened because he was beaten as a child for trying to defend a girl. This is his "loss of innocence". The lolipop becomes the symbol of his pacifism. When the lolipop was broken, immediately after, he is was tasked to free the most dangerous killer on earth from prison. He agrees.

Pic 5: The end shows the protagonist opening a lolipop store, indicating how he is now free to embrace peace. This reverts him into a child, meaning what's lost is restored. At the same time, the same beggar who recruited him as a child recruits another boy - giving hope to the audience that they are not alone in the fight for peace. More will come!

Written on September 16, 2021.