Ride On

Lao Luo, a former stuntman, is out of work, in debt, and owns nothing but his ageing horse Chitu. Creditors come for the animal, and because ownership cannot be documented the matter goes to court. Lao Luo has to ask his daughter, a law student, for help, though they have not spoken in years. The subject is not the horse but what becomes of a stuntman whose working life is over. Lao Luo lived by using his body, that body is no longer enough, and all he has left is old footage. The film shows plainly how the industry treats its stunt performers. The form sits between family film and martial arts picture; there are fights, but the weight is on the emotional side. The choreography involving the horse was genuinely worked out with the animal. Jackie Chan is playing the reckoning of his own career here. Footage from his earlier films is used, and his list of injuries enters the narrative directly, so the distance between actor and role is deliberately closed. Larry Yang directs. Liu Haocun plays the daughter and Guo Qilin the lawyer. Who it is for: viewers who like late Jackie Chan and films that look at the stunt profession. Who it is not for: anyone who dislikes emotional pressure; the film raises its register noticeably in the final stretch.