Chikan Oh
2017 · 9m · China
Directed by Roberto Julio Álamo
Genres: action, fantasy, historical
In ancient China, world-famous martial-arts champion Chikan Oh begins training at the Pingsha Temple just as an ancient evil controlling the Black Triad threatens Pingsha — and only he can stop it.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
It's a perfectly competent wuxia pastiche that knows exactly what it is — which is precisely why it doesn't interest me; there's no premise here that makes me say 'wait, WHAT?', just a well-executed version of something we've seen a hundred times before.
Álamo demonstrates formal control over the mythic register and a clear lineage to classical wuxia cinema, though the film stays within well-established generic conventions rather than interrogating or reframing them in ways that might elevate it beyond homage.
The economy of 9 minutes forces Álamo to compress character and world-building into pure kinetic storytelling, and the choice to let action sequences carry narrative weight rather than exposition gives even a familiar premise an urgency that justifies the small canvas.