The Invisible Fight (2023)
USSR-China border, 1973. Rafael, is in the army on guard duty when the border falls under attack from flying Chinese kung fu warriors. Utterly fascinated by the long-haired Chinese hippie black-clad kung fu aces flying around blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio Rafael gets struck by a revelation; he too wants to become a kung fu warrior. Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of kick-ass adventures.
It’s a wacky and frequently nonsensical mish-mosh of elements that don’t quite add up, and yet, the absurdist shock of seeing such incongruous ingredients forced together is typically enough to spark laughter. (Peter Debruge, Variety)
Most martial arts films have a scenery-chewing antagonist, whereas this is a hangout movie with the occasional fight. It is more introspective and careful than you might expect from its genre trappings, to say nothing of its heavy metal soundtrack. (Alan Zilberman, Spectrum Culture)
