The Tao of stuntmen

"Red Trousers" at first glance seems an odd title for an action film even if it is a documentary. The subtitle, "The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen," clarifies things a bit, but after watching a few minutes of the film and seeing stuntmen jump off eight-story buildings, get hit by cars, leap off bridges onto trucks and drive motorcycles off cliffs -- with no or minimal safety gear -- you might think the title of Robin Shou's film describes the color of the stuntmen's clothes when they are hauled away by paramedics.

A star of "Mortal Kombat," "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" and "Beverly Hills Ninja," Shou has returned to Hong Kong to open a window on the industry that set him on a path to Hollywood. "Red Trousers," his directorial debut, examines not only the incredibly dangerous lives of Hong Kong stuntmen but also their origins in the Beijing Opera, where many of them trained as children, studying under acrobatics masters who wouldn't hesitate to beat them.

"Red Trousers," Shou says, "refers to the life of indentured servitude of young children growing up in the Beijing Opera school." The film shows how this life both toughens them and makes them either disciplined or subservient enough to do whatever a stunt director asks.

Born in Hong Kong, Shou came to the United States at age 8 when his parents immigrated. When he was a little older, he studied martial arts, ultimately becoming a champion fighter. While on vacation in Hong Kong when he was 20, Shou was approached by a film producer who cast him as the villain in a martial arts film.

"The fight coordinator told me, 'Robin, this guy is going to kick you. I want you to hit the wall, bounce off it, fall down those stairs and then roll off and drop 10 feet to the floor -- can you do that?' I had absolutely no experience -- it was my first movie. They gave me knee pads and elbow pads -- that's all."

The stuntmen's dedication is difficult to fathom. "Money is a side thing," Shou says. These are men finding their identity through their work. If you're a standout, you're able to become a coordinator and later a director or producer, and maybe one day you can have your own production company."

Many Chinese action stars have their roots in the Beijing Opera. "The opera actors are almost like jesters from the old days -- they are entertainers. That's where Jackie Chan's and Sammo Hung's comedic expressions are from. Everything they do is very big and exaggerated -- because the origin is as stage performance."