Can Dialetics Break Bricks?

Can Dialetics Break Bricks? (La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques?) (1973)

Runtime: 83 minutes

Directed by: Kuang-Chi Tu, Rene Vienet

Starring: Chan Hung Liu, Ingrid Wu, Jason Pai Piao, Li Chai Chung

From: Telemondial

I'll explain later how I came across this real bizarre film, but basically it was due to me looking at random websites and ending up on a list on Letterboxd list and noticing a particular posted so I clicked on it and I was both shocked and amazed by the plot description, so I looked to see if it was online and it was. I'll explain the plot in the Letterboxd portion of the review, which is the rest of this review, as a matter of fact.

I can thank looking at random websites and coming to a list on Letterboxd for discovering this quite strange film. I found the list “Obscure” by a person calling themselves Sally Jane Black. They've managed to see all sorts of weird stuff even I hadn't heard of before, including this film. I looked at the plot description and saw it was available for viewing online so I checked it out and what an odd idea this was.

I am sure everyone knows of the 60's Woody Allen film What's Up, Tiger Lily?, where he took a random Japanese film and dubbed it so it turned into something comedic. That method of modifying someone else's work has been called detournement. This is a similar idea, except that a group that existed in France at the time known as Situationists (basically, anti-authority Marxists inspired by such things as surrealism and Dadaism) brought their ideas using the classical method of dialetic arguing and dubbed a random Hong Kong martial arts movie called Crush and now the heroes are the proletariats and the enemies are bureaucrats and such topics as anarchism, Maoism and the French riots of 1968 are discussed. I swear this is all true.

The thing is, as the original film was set in Korea and was about the Japanese occupying the country in the early 20th century, that's how they were able to fit such a wacky idea over a random Hong Kong martial arts movie most likely no one remembers today, and somehow make it work with them preaching their ideals while throwing in fourth wall breaking, vulgarity and jokes along the way. You only really need to know some basics of capitalism, anarchism, and Marxism to follow what's going on; while some of it did fly over my head, I got the basic idea and that was the important thing.

I am not saying I support the ideas presented in this film; after all it's pretty radical and says such things as “kill all priests”, I don't agree with. I am just saying this was so oddly entertaining and subversive and I am happy this real obscure film is actually pretty easy to find online to watch.

I'll return tomorrow night.