REVIEW:
Yuen Biao's first and only directorial effort is an impressive, largely different offering from the usual Hong Kong action fare.

Shot partly on location in Tibet, the story tells of a young monk Wong La (Yuen Biao) who meets up with a crippled lawyer who wants to return the sacred Babu Gold Bottle, which is in possession of his dying client. And so Wong La must go to Hong Kong along with a feisty representative (played with some considerable panache by Michelle Reis). The Babu Gold Bottle is a powerful magic bauble which was used by the Tibetan monks to expel the evil Black section when they tried to conquer Tibet years ago. Now the Black section, lead by the always excellent Yuen Wah find out about the hand-over of the Babu Gold Bottle and are on Wong La's tail.

Yuen Biao's concoction of magic, good-versus-evil, fish-out-of-water tale along with some fight scenes makes for a highly enjoyable movie. Made just three years after the classic "The Iceman Cometh," Yuen Biao again plays a little on the fish-out-of-water scenario. Although despite not being as funny as the aforementioned movie, it's still very funny in it's own right.

The cast is uniformly impressive. With the under-rated Michelle Reis a standout and Yuen Biao's off-the-wall portrayal of a monk a delight.

Although there aren't many fight scenes in the movie, they are expertly choreographed by both Biao and Wah. In fact, their duel is fantastic, although a bit on the short side.

A minus point of the film is that some of the special effects are a bit poor. However, some of the Tibetan magic special effects and the pyrotechnic displays of power and stunt-work is impressive.

"A Kid from Tibet" isn't a classic. It is a highly-enjoyable movie and unlike other Hong Kong action movies, it has an abundance of plot, which has some satire and some nice points between the new (Hong Kong and it's high-tech scenery etc) and the old (Tibet, etc). And there's some brilliant camera-work, which include some lovely sweeping shots which show some breathtaking views of Tibet. The direction of Yuen Biao is also very impressive. It's a bit of a shame he hasn't directed anything else, as he shows great potential.

"A Kid from Tibet" is also a change of pace from the high-octane ammunition flicks of the Hong Kong genre with a blink-and-you'll-miss cameo from someone special. If you're looking for something different, or even if you're not, it's well worth a watch.