The Way (2021)

Jane (Eli Jane) and Xin (Joan Wong) first clash in the prison yard. The guards threaten to put them in “solitary”. Both women, mind you, are already on death row, meaning that they should never not be in solitary — what they’re doing in the yard in the first place, I haven’t the foggiest (nor do the filmmakers, I presume).

Then again, this is a movie wherein practicing qi gong can turn you into a veritable saiyajin. That Xin, and later her pupil Jane, develop powers through which they could easily break out of prison is pretty stupid; on the other hand, that they actually choose not is what makes this film intriguing.

As it turns out, the Asian concept that The Way is chock full of is not the Chinese qi gong, but the Japanese wabi-sabi. This film is very far from perfect, but it sure as hell ain’t predictable.

It has women in prison and underground street fights, but it’s not a Girls Behind Bars or a Fight Club movie, and what makes it tick is accordingly of a much more existential nature.

Additionally, The Way contains a rare example of a Freaky Friday Switch that plays the trope straight; it’s a gamble but it definitely pays off.

Where the filmmakers do miss the mark by a mile is in their choice of name for the heroine. Jane Arcs is pretty much a direct reference to Joan of Arc, but other than that the two women have nothing in common.

Joan was an innocent (she was nominally a commander of the French army but never participated in combat, and it’s very likely that she suffered from some mental disorder, so all in all she cannot be said to have ever lied or killed) born to be martyred, and quite frankly I find Jane’s story much more interesting; as the man said, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.”