Bu ken qu Guanyin

I once heard a Chinese fable that went something like this:

A man found a strong horse and brought it home. His neighbors claimed he was so lucky, but the man replied, "Who can say what is good and what is bad?" The next day his son rode the horse and was thrown from it, breaking his leg. His neighbors lamented his bad luck, but the man said, "Who can say what is good and what is bad?" The following day, the army came through town to conscript soldiers, but the son was not taken on account of his broken leg.

That story encapsulates the spirit of the film Avalokitesvara, particularly that of the character Little Lotus (Chun Li). As the outcome of an action can't be known, it is better to act forthrightly on principles and accept the consequences than to give in to baser motivations or impulses. Doing such will lead to infinitely better outcomes than acting without principles. At least, that is what I took away from the film.

As for the quality of the film itself, I found the CGI dubious and the wire-fu sequences confusing. However, this was a character-driven drama rather than an action/adventure, and didn't rely solely on action or special effects. The action was purely in service to the story (they way it should be), so overall, this was an effective film, and will appeal to broader audiences than the Buddhist images or message would suggest.