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Two
snake sisters, Green (Maggie Cheung) and white (Joey Wong) change
their shape and become human. White is the more experienced of the
two and has no problem blending in with the humans and finding herself
a lover. However, Green is young and reckless and much more inexperienced
at shape changing and cannot feel human emotions. After a few run-ins
with a monk (Chiu Man Chuk), who hunts non-humans, Green is forced
to show her true form and scares her sisters lover to death. The
two of them must then recover a special herb to revive him which
is guarded by both a crane and the monk.
This is Tsui Hark's magnum opus. The film was very expensive to
make and every penny is up there on the screen. The cinematography
is astounding and the use of colour is the best I've ever seen in
any film before or since. The story is also well paced with only
a few incomprehensible scenes. Maggie Cheung plays the title character
with ease, she is a better actress than Wong and I think this is
why Tsui cast her as Green. Joey Wong is the younger in real life
but here Cheung plays the naive and seductive Green to perfection
switching from both mysterious to playful in the same scene. Chiu
Man Chuk is also extremely charismatic as the monk who falls foul
of Green's charms. The music is good too with an original score
(unusual for a Hong Kong film) showing influences from all cultures
but with a unique Chinese twist. Tsui uses many icons distinctly
linked to Chinese culture to help represent the emotions of the
protagonists and nothing feels forced within the narrative as the
pacing is just right. One obvious criticism is the special effects
- perhaps Tsui would have been better suggesting the snakes true
form rather than using extremely dated plastic models, what is seen
of them seems to be at odds with the excellent production design.
This is not a film for Kung Fu movie fans but if you like Hong Kong
fantasy you cannot go wrong. Tsui has delivered an intelligent and
extremely well realised interpretation of an old Chinese legend.
The definitive Hong Kong fantasy film.
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