Sai yau gei: Yut gwong bou haap

This is the first of a two part movie series adapted from the classic Chinese novel,Journey To The West.I would consider this as the more comedic one,while the second is more action-packed,with a little sense of art-house in it(if you watch the two together it forms a perfect balance).In this movie,Stephen Chow's character had not yet transformed into the all invincible Monkey King,hence not much action here.It was also extremely loosely based on the novel,so fans of the book might not really like this.The comedy level in this movie is so extreme...you can't even stop laughing for a minute,so if necessary,watch it bit by bit to catch some breath.Watch this solely for the humor,and you'll see a masterpiece.Sing-yeh's best film of the nineties.

Rate:****

best chinese film till now. about 80% university student have seen more than 3 times. the quotes in it have been quote everywhere by young men. it becomes a magic culture deep in the life of young men

nowadays.

This is a nice movie, including the second part.You can really appreciate the imagination and some twisted sense of humor. Decent fighting scenes, pretty woman and impressive art design. The story is, well, kind of freaky, so all this together make this film very surreal, but entertaining enough. Stephan Chow, genius as usual, is very helpful.

You can see that Jeffrey Lau got a lot on his mind. In this movie he presents identities in crisis, internal struggles, personal development and learning, some religious, cultural and social issues, including sexual problems. All this presented to the viewers through fantastic story, while completely ignoring the laws of Fisics.

But the way he chooses to make his statements or opinions looks strange, simplistic and not complete, at least to Western culture cynic like me. There a lot of movies dealing with the same stuff in another way, more realistic and, that's why, more powerful.

So, it's great Mr Lau are talking and presenting this sort of themes in his personal and interesting own way, but the movie is not for everyone. His extreme fantasy takes the viewers far away from reality, it's all very distant, like some alien world. The plot and the characters are very confusing sometimes, this unbelievable environment seems artificial and doubtful, so the movie has no real impact, no meaningful influence, it's like grabbing water with hand. You know you felt something, but there is nothing left.

I remembered watching this movie many years ago and knew that it would be an instant classic. It wasn't so much of the slapstick humor that made Stephen Chow famous but the depth of the story line that rarely exists in HK productions.

Using an important part of the classic story, "Journey to the West", the director attempted to retell the story of how the Monkey god (Sun Wu Kong) was tamed and willingly escorted the Longevity Monk on a journey to India (West) to receive the sacred buddhist scriptures. In the original text, Monkey was captured by the great lord Buddha and entraped under the "5 Fingers Mountain" (Hand of Buddha) for 500 years where he was tamed and then saved by the Longevity Monk.

In the movie adaption, he was appointed the protector of the Longevity Monk but strayed from the path of holiness when he fell in love with a demoness and tried to sell out his master (the demons believed by eating his flesh, they would gain immortality). Monkey was eventually captured and was to be destroyed when his master intervened, begging for his disciple's mercy and sacrificing himself to save his disciple. The Goddess of Mercy then decided to send the Monkey 500 years forward in time to live a life of sufferings as a mortal before passing judgement.

The story comes in 2 parts and has to be watched together to be fully understood (the 1st part had quite a cliffhanger going on). While great performances were to be expected from every cast involved, Stephen Chow stood out as the Monkey God. As a mortal he attempted to resist his fate and change his future, as an immortal he tried to forget his mortal longings and focus on his mission. Stephen Chow's portrayal of the struggle and growth of the character was simply excellent.

Don't expect this movie to be the typical comedy/adventure/action HK movie. In fact it's a very well written tragedy, not only about love, but life in general. The acting is excellent, especially for Stephen Chow and Karen Mok. Since the story is split into two movies, you must watch them both to fully understand the whole story.

Even though the characters are taken from the classic novel "Journey to the West", however, it has nothing to do with the original. I surely will not even consider it as an adaption... a REINVENTION is probably the correct word.

If all you are looking for is a few good laughs, the movie has plenty. But this movie definitely have more to offer, so enjoy!