One of my favorites as well. Not to spoiler, but the ending is excellent.
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A man in a foreign land who can't return home vs. a man who can't allow him to stay. Both of them have the weight of everyone's ego on their shoulder and they wind up crippling each other because of it. Cliche now days, but better than the typical, "I got revenge and killed the bad guy...let's have my old master and girlfriend help me limp off into the sunset" ending of this genre.
That's a solid read of the ending. I like how the movie, even among all the madness, always bothers to explore the motivations of both lead characters. Each one tied by their own traditions and expectations. Great wu xia film.
Fucking love this. Saw the trailer for this at the beginning of a much more shitty kung fu movie, and spent a long time searching for it (in the pre- everything is available online days). Holy shit was I not disappointed when I finally watched it!