|
Review
by Kozo: |
Tsui Hark puts himself into “great director” mode to retell
the ancient Chinese story of the Green Snake (Maggie Cheung)
and sister White Snake (Joey Wong). The two snakes are immortal
creatures who manage to attain human form after hundreds of
years of practicing their sorcery. However, this disrupts
the natural order, meaning many Buddhist boosters are soon
after the two sisters.
Meanwhile, the two snakes contend
themselves with human lives. The elder, more mature White
Snake marries a scholar (Wu Xing-Guo), but the younger Green
Snake finds herself puzzled by this notion of being human.
While attractive to her, she still relishes her snake form,
and chooses to use it occasionally.
Things get complicated when all the
monks start showing up to take down our snake heroines. Chief
among these is Fa-Hoi (Zhao Wen-Zhou), a die-hard monk who
finds himself torn between earthly desires and the spiritual
pull of his religion. He initially lets the snakes have their
way since they aren't really harming anyone. However, circumstances
won't allow the snakes to get on with their lives. Fate, love,
sex, hate, religion and desire all play a role in eventually
bringing down the world that the two snakes attempt to build.
And, in trying to end their unnatural existences, Fa-Hoi reveals
the hypocrisy at the heart of his strict Buddhist life.
Tsui Hark’s direction is a lurid
mishmash of comedy, slow-motion eroticism, and obvious political
allegory (meaning it's typical Tsui). The variety of themes
let loose in this overdone art-house fantasy flick could fill
a small book. The snakes are portrayed as beings who simply
want to live their chosen lives in the human world, but are
denied and persecuted by strict societal mores and overzealous
individuals enforcing the "natural order." The main
enforcer of these rules is Fa-Hoi, who's also revealed as
given towards desire, anger and even hypocrisy. Since what
the snakes want is love, family and hope, Fa-Hoi and his Buddhist
Gestapo are denying the very humanity they are supposedly
trying to uphold.
Made in 1993, this movie allowed
Tsui Hark plenty of time to ruminate on what would happen
post-1997. The political allegory is obvious when you look
closely (Fa-Hoi’s large red surplice can mean only one thing:
China). In that respect, the film has debatable merit. Also
in question is the film's success at being a simple cheesy
fantasy. The large rubber snakes and poor special effects
don't help matters, as they relegate the film to a low-budget
fantasy spectacle. That, added to Tsui's usual over-the-top
direction and the bizarre histrionics, could induce snickering
in more than a few audience members.
Still, there are more moments of
sheer beauty in this overdone art-house wuxia than in any
other Hong Kong film in recent memory. Tsui Hark isn't a great
director because he makes cohesive films - he's a great director
because his films manage to elicit the full gamut of emotions
in ninety minutes or less. His pet political themes could
easily be ignored, and the plight of the snakes would still
register as one of simple humanity. Bringing weight to the
proceedings are Joey Wong and Maggie Cheung, who turn in fine,
lovely performances. The art direction, astounding musical
score, and beautiful costume designs all add to the spectacle. Green Snake may not be a great film, but it's most
definitely great cinema. (Kozo 1995/1999) |
|
