The Real Shaolin

Gripping and Raw
I don't typically bother to write reviews, particularly about movies, but after watching the Real Shaolin I felt compelled to take the time to add my thoughts. I have actually seen the Shaolin Monks perform live on multiple occasions, and was always blown away by their grace and the unbelievable moves and stunts they performed. In my mind, these disciples honed their craft in small mountain monasteries a la The Golden Child. (I, uh uh I, uh uh I want the knife....)

This movie changed all that.

The reality of Shaolin is that the schools are more like gulag-style factories where abandoned children train night and day in squalor in the hopes of escaping a life as a farmer. Beatings are the norm, and nutrition is a pipe dream. And the ancient arts of kung fu have given way to the pageantry of Wushu and the UFC-styled marketable fighting of Sanba.

One of the most eye-opening documentaries I have seen in quite a while. Also, I watched it with my...

Great into to the world of training in China
As an avid student of Shaolin Kung Fu, I've been fascinated by the idea of training in China. The Real Shaolin is the first documentary I've found which has gone deeply inside this world and shown what life is like as a westerner in the world of Chinese martial arts. It provided excellent perspective on the different types of students who come to China to train, their motivations, their triumphs and their disappointments. Production values are excellent and the storytelling quite good. Thank you to Director Alex Lee for going deeply into this world and showing how it works.

Awesome movie!
I've always wondered what Shaolin really was. Awesome movie, following four people through their journeys. Absolute goose bumps at least twice. Really curious to know what happened to the subjects of the movie.

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