"Kiss of the Dragon" pressure point...
Richard: What did you do to me?
Liu Jian: I put a needle in your neck.
Richard: That's it?
Liu Jian: In a certain point. Very forbidden. It's called the Kiss of the Dragon.
Richard: Kiss my ass!
Liu Jian: The blood from your whole body goes to your head... it stops there... never comes down. But soon, it will come out of your nose, your ears, and even your eyes... and then... you will die... painfully.
So, as I'm sure we're all aware, this (like the Quivering Palm from Wo hu cang long (2000) and the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique from Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)) is the type of martial art mythology that helps create a certain psychological atmosphere that's disproportionate to reality. Yes, there are pressure points. Yes, intense pressure to those points may cause damage (even more than expected at times). But no, there's no real evidence anywhere that indicates you can actually intentionally kill someone in such magical manners.
That aside, however, every time I've seen this film when Li, in that sweet little voice of his, describes this "forbidden" touch of death, I can't help but wonder. Suspending physiological realities (and disbelief), if this were possible, can you imagine how it was discovered?
I suppose it's kind of a "dark humor" thing, but my younger brother and I thought it would go something like this:
The first acupuncturists ever are sitting around slowly, carefully testing their needles on volunteers while assistants take notes. One of the testers suddenly says "uh oh..." while the assistant frantically writes down exactly where the needle is and what the result of it being there is. Before the testee dies, painfully, with blood flowing from all of his cranial orifices, the tester sheepishly says "my bad."
Thoughts?
~@~ Victor Hugo: Imagination is intelligence with an erection. share