As a kid Tran Quoc Bao made backyard Jackie Chan videos that Corey Yuen helped edit. Bruce Lee inspired his martial arts tribute film The Paper Tigers
- ‘Shaw Brothers in a street fight’ is how Vietnamese-American Tran Quoc Bao describes the martial arts action scenes in his new film
- Bruce Lee’s rooftop fights growing up in Hong Kong inspired the film, as did Hong Kong martial arts movie themes such as avenging a master’s death
Asian-American directors don’t usually make martial arts films, which is why The Paper Tigers, directed by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Tran Quoc Bao, comes as a pleasant surprise.
Set in modern-day Seattle, the film blends themes from classic Hong Kong martial arts films with American martial arts culture. The story follows three ageing martial artists (played by Ron Yuan, Alain Uy and Mykel Shannon Jenkins) as they try to find their former master’s killer while struggling with the everyday duties of humdrum suburban life.
Tran, who directed the film, learned the Korean martial art taekwondo as a child, and was mentored by Hong Kong action-film choreographer and director Corey Yuen Kwai.
Tran describes the film as “Shaw Brothers in a street fight”. The Paper Tigers is not a genre movie, but the many martial arts scenes, choreographed by Ken Quitugua, are treated with respect and are surprisingly effective.
Tran spoke to the Post during the Asian-American International Film Festival in New York, where The Paper Tigers opened on October 1.
