I had a chance to view Alexander Sebastien Lee’s The Real Shaolin this past weekend. The documentary follows four individuals, two westerners and two Chinese, as they struggle to achieve their “Shaolin” dream. The film realistically, and even painfully, portrays the dichotomy of what is our idealistic fantasy, and what is reality.
All of the individuals, have aspirations to achieve something within Shaolin Kung Fu, but all of them seem to realize in the end that Shaolin isn’t what they thought it was.
The most intriguing character in the film is Yuan Peng, the 9-year-old Chinese boy, who was abandoned at the Shaolin temple by his mother. He talks about his loneliness, and how he often cries because of the brutal training that he has to endure.
The film has a melancholy tone, and doesn’t provide me with the closure that I desire. However, this isn’t a Hollywood film, but a documentary. And documentaries are rooted in fact. The Real Shaolin portrays in a gritty way, the costs of pursuing a dream. And whether or not the journey was worth the effort is something the viewer should ponder as they watch this film.
