Xu Haofeng’s The Final Master, making its
North American debut at the Seattle International Film Festival, is a throwback
to classic wuxia films in every sense. A story fraught with ambition, loyalty,
and betrayal, it wears the scope and aesthetic texture of its predecessors. Set
in China of the 1930s, there are familiar themes of old versus new, changing
times and tides, increasing western encroachment, and impending war.
