Meditation on Violence (1949)

Chao-Li Chi shadow boxes indoors and practices with a sword outdoors. Theoretically, the film describes in a single continuous movement three degrees of traditional Chinese boxing, Wu-tang, Shao-lin, and Shao-lin with a sword. A long sequence of the ballet-like, sinuous Wu-tang becomes the more erratic Shao-lin; in the middle, there is an abrupt change to leaping sword movements, in the center of which, at the apogee of the leap, there is a long held freeze-frame.

Released April 24, 1949 12 min None+

Genres: Documentary, Short

Keywords: tmdb.dance, tmdb.short-film, mdblist.imdb-short, mdblist.has-trailer, mdblist.one-actor, imdb.title-directed-by-female, imdb.violence + 5 more, imdb.surrealism, imdb.avant-garde-short, imdb.experimental-short, imdb.martial-arts, aspectratio.1-37-1