Green Snake

Tsui Hark's magical fantasy Green Snake is such a tour de force of stunning visuals and expertly crafted moments of cinema magic that one can easily forgive the occasional dodgy special effect or lapse in narrative cohesion.

Maggie Cheung plays the beautiful titular character, one of a pair of benign female snake demons who have mastered the ability to transform themselves into humans. Her companion, White Snake (Joey Wang), is far more experienced than Green at altering her appearance, and has also managed to acquire human emotions, falling in love with a young scholar Hsui Xien (who is quite unaware that his girl is actually a scaly serpent in disguise).

Desperate to experience the same feelings as White, but unable to control her desires, Green also attempts to seduce Hsui Xien (the lucky old so-and-so), and even tries to seduce a powerful monk, Faat Hoi, whose mission it is to trap demons; this naturally causes all kinds of problems which eventually result in Hsui Xien discovering White's secret.

For the majority of its running time, the lyrical beauty of Hark's tale is more than enough to retain one's attention; even when there isn't much happening story-wise, the film is shot with such style that it is totally captivating. For example, the scene in which Green gatecrashes a Bollywood dance routine while a rain-drenched White slithers off to spy on the scholar might not add much to the plot, but with its lush colours, amazing soundtrack, and Cheung's impossibly sexy performance, it's one of the most memorable cinematic sequences that I've seen.

Towards the end of the film, events do start to become slightly wearisome, and perhaps the film is a little too long for its own good; some viewers may find Hark's leisurely pace a little too slow, whilst others might laugh at the sometimes less-than-effective special effects (the CGI magic crane is certainly very weak). However, the film's positives far outweigh its negatives, and fans of Asian fantasy should definitely seek it out.

From time to time I like to dabble in a pool of older genre films. I don't find many masterpieces there, but some films are pretty entertaining. And once in a while, something really neat pops up. Green Snake is one of those films, ranking among the top films the early 90s Hong Kong period has to offer.

Green Snake is a strange blend of genres, but not at all uncommon for those type of films. If you want to compare it to anything (that is remotely known) I guess A Chinese Ghost Story comes closest.

The film's main focus are two demon snakes that have traveled to the human world to live a better life. They act as dames and try to find a husband, as they can secure their lives in the human world by getting a human child. This might sound a bit silly, but in essence it differs little from many Roman or Greek legends we know (and accept them for what they are).

Of course, no HK film from that period is complete with at least some flashes of martial arts thrown in. So a traveling monk and Buddha priest are added to make the lives of our snakes a bit harder. Both are trained in the more magical areas of the martial arts field, resulting in many magical spells and little hand to hand combat.

What sets this film apart from his peers is the visual brilliance. It won't be to everyone's liking, but the abundant use of color is simply superb. Every shot in the film looks lush, be it through it's impressive, colorful set design or through the many filters that are used. The editing gives you little time to absorb all this beauty, but every new shot is impressive enough not to care.

Also typical for these type of films is the type of editing used. Because the means and budgets were not high enough to create the effects required in a believable way, many magical scenes are often shot up close and edited in such a way that the viewer will fill in the blanks. It can become a bit confusing this way, but all in all it's a splendid solution. Some scenes still look pretty cheap, but overall the effects never take away from the film.

Another thing worth mentioning is the music. Although probably hit and miss for many, I liked the music Hark has chosen for this film. Especially the song with the Indian (?) dancers stayed long after the movie had finished. Pretty strange, not everyone will far for it but I think it worked wonders here.

Of course, there's also the quirky acting and silly humor that are ever present in these HK films. It comes with the territory and I don't mind one single bit, but it's another factor that will turn off some people from films like Green Snake. Their loss I guess.

It's pretty easy to love or hate these kind of films. But if you're a fan of this kind of cinema, Green Snake is one of the best films to pick. It's Tsui Hark at his best, the film is lush in its visuals and score, is entertaining to the core and wastes no time on unnecessary things. Very likable and extremely well-made. 4.0*/5.0*

If you're in the mood for a chinese folk/fairy tale with great visuals and production design, this is right up your alley.

It's relentless, it never takes a break from the fantastical feel, for 98 minutes it wants you to escape your boring life and fully transport you to this realm in which two sister snakes (one green and one white) want to be human but are hunted by a buddist monk. It's great! I really don't know why it's called Green Snake when the White one is as much part of the story as the first one. Maybe because the green one is more in touch with her mystical side by the end, rather than the human side?

It's interesting how religion is the one fighting mysticism here...how religion fights fantasy. Only with Buddhism you can do this.

It is a really good movie. Both teal snake and white snake are charming and deadly attractive. Xu Xian is a everyday Joe male character. No man won't envy his good luck with beautiful women! ;) The monk--Fa Hai--is stubborn and prejudiced in his attitude towards human and non-humans. In the end, he seems to regret what he has done to the snake sisters. The story stresses the sexual desire of human beings. ;) Even the monk, who has reached the prestige of human-buddie, cannot deprive himself of sexual imagination and impulse.

The pace of the story telling is fast; the structure of the story plots is compact; the special visual effect of magic casting and fighting is eye catching; and the music and singing is touching and resonant with the progress of the story.

Tsui Hark is one of those director's that sort of polarizes his audience. You either go along with his loopy, unique directorial style or you get angry at him. Other directors like him are Sam Raimi and Takeshi Miike. They all go where their muse takes them regardless of where the movie is at the moment.

The film tells the story of two giant magical snakes who decide to experience human emotional life. We first encounter them while a super powered Buddhist is searching for evil spirits to destroy. He starts to attack them but relents when he discovers that the snakes are sheltering a pregnant woman in labor from a torrential downpour. The snakes enter the local town and one, White Snake, chances upon a bureaucrat who catches her fancy. The two transform into human form, create a mansion by spell and lure the bureaucrat there. White Snake falls in love with the man, marrying him, while Green Snake, her sister, has problems understanding the human emotions her sister is so capable of enjoying. Green is also having a hard time hiding her true snake self from her sister's husband. It gets complicated with the monk entering the picture once again with bad consequences for all.

First of all, this is a story that fully compliments Hark's style. Unlike other films of his that I felt were compromised by his experiments and vaudeville style, here it almost all works wonderfully. The fantastic characters and action of Chinese mythology are colorfully illustrated here. The art direction and photography is excellent as well. Music score is great.

I felt the film was a commentary on religious rigidity but clearly this production has many meanings to different viewers. That's a sign of a good movie. Recommended.