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Kung-Fu Master!

Kung-Fu Master!

Drama · Romance · 1988

A lonely 40-year old woman finds herself shattering taboos by falling in love with the 14-year old Julien – but is it romance, or a desperate attempt to turn back time in the face of middle age?

Movie details

Kung-Fu Master!

“He was 15. She was 40. Love is where you find it.”

1988 Drama · Romance 1h 20m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

A lonely 40-year old woman finds herself shattering taboos by falling in love with the 14-year old Julien – but is it romance, or a desperate attempt to turn back time in the face of middle age?

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kung-Fu Master!?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Agnès Varda

Written by

Jane Birkin · Agnès Varda

Jane Birkin

Jane Birkin

Mary-Jane

Mathieu Demy

Mathieu Demy

Julien

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Lucy

Lou Doillon

Lou Doillon

Lou

G

Gary Chekchak

Youngster

C

Cyril Houplain

Youngster

F

Frank Laurent

Youngster

Court is in session

Put Kung-Fu Master! on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.