This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

SHOWDOWN AT THE COTTON MILL opens with a series of to-the-death battles as Hu (Chi Kuan Chun) sets about avenging his family against the dastardly Wutang clan. None of the Wutang fighters are a match for Hu (of course). Enter the "scholar," Ping (Tan), who's real name is Kao. He infiltrates Hu's Temple and sets about trying to track him down. Once he has his man in his sights, he sets him up by asking Hu to demonstrate his prowess by uprooting a tree(!). Hu is in the process of obliging when Kao strikes, targeting Hu's upper back muscles (which are being taxed to the limit at the moment Kao strikes). Hu is badly injured, but manages to escape. When he returns for a face-to-face confrontation, the two battle to the death. Yet again, director Wu Ma works a minor miracle. The final battle between Chun and Tan is great (and all of the fights throughout are very well done). The DVD I saw included video of Chun doing 5 different Fist forms and a 1975 tournament demonstration by Tan (proving that neither man is a paper tiger).

Yet another martial arts film the deals with the exploits of legendary Shaolin hero Hu Hui Chien. after beating all the fighters at the cotton mill a Wu tang based outfit,their chief hires a Fukeinese leg Fighter named Kao also a student of the Wu Tang temple to do away Hu Hui Chien , using a cunning trick Kao makes friends wit Hu and then challenges him to a duel wounds him mortally, however Hu makes it back o the temple and the Abbot prolongs his life just long enough to see him fight Kao one more deadly time. Without doubt one of the all time kung fu greats as real life masters Chi Kuan Chun (Hu) and Tam Tao Liang (Kao) go fist to foot to see who is the greater Shaolin or Wu Tang or the Fist or the Foot