Sien lui yau wan

This movie is a piece of art and people should not compare it to the original movie. Today's generation will enjoy this movie in a whole new way just as my generation did when we saw the original back in the 80's. As we get older we tend to change our taste in what kind of movies we like. Unless you adept to the ever-changing cultural and social changes in art you'll not be able to enjoy its treasures. This movie is an classic already just like the original was but like I said before - don't compare it to the original. Look at this movie as a whole new love story that will create a great memory for all the people who see it for the first time. Sometimes we judge things based on how they made us feel without realizing that emotions are personal and art is unique. I saw this movie last night and was inspired by its beauty. I'll cherish this memory just like I did with the original one for years to come..

I've never seen the previous versions so for me this was a totally new story and I loved it. First of all, the blending between the perfect CGI and the traditional visual art typical of Chinese fantasy movies is really outstanding. I enjoyed the plot because you don't really know what's going to happen next. The acting is so convincing that I cried few times during the movie. I fell in love with each one of the characters; their performance is really outstanding! I also appreciate, in accordance to the ying and yang philosophy, the fact that for every dangerous and scary character, there is a funny and clumsy one to balance the energy and make you laugh. I'm looking forward to watch more of this kind of movies.

A line at the closing credits of this film reads 'In Memory Forever of Leslie Cheung' - acknowledging Cheung's role in the similarly-titled 1987 film as well as its 1990 sequel. Indeed, the 1987 "A Chinese Ghost Story", directed by Ching Siu-Tung in collaboration with producer Tsui Hark, was a landmark movie because its 'crazy' kungfu (and wirefu) effects gimmicks turned it into a cult hit with western (read: international) audiences. Its two sequels (1990 and 1991) were not as popular.

Here, director Wilson Yip claims that it is not a remake but a 'new' love story - and yet many elements of the 1987 film remain.

THE PLOT: Government official Ling Choi Sin (Yu Shao Qun, taking over Leslie Cheung's role) journeys to the parched Black Mountain Village to help its inhabitants find water. As he leads a group of 'volunteers' up the haunted mountain, he encounters a bevy of sexy demons and well as a lovely 'girl' named Siu Sin (Liu Yi-Fei). After wooing her with some candy, he falls for her - and then realizes that he is caught in a deadly triangle: another guy, a demon-hunter named Yan Chek Ha (Louis Koo) is also in love with Siu Sin.

However, before the two men can settle their differences, they have to contend with the evil Tree Demon (Wai Ying-Hung) as well as a one-armed demon hunter (Louis Fan) who is determined to kill all the supernatural beings.

MY REVIEW: The 1987 film has a confusing storyline and even more befuddled action sequences that have become the trademarks of Tsui Hark. Wilson Yip, who gave us the two "Ip Man" films, does not attempt to make the love story (especially the one between Chek Ha and Siu Sin) more plausible - or try to 'rationalise' the action sequences. Indeed, some of the fighting scenes are more comical than magical and the acting appear over-the-top. Liu Yi-Fei (left) fits the bill as the Enchantress of the forest but I wish she can evoke more emotions besides pouting and winking her eyes.

It is a good thing that Pu Song Ling's story has been adapted on the screen many times before, since "The Enchanting Shadow" (directed by Li Han Hsiang) in the early 1960s. That way, the plot is familiar to many in the audience and they need not rely on the flimsy narrative.

Apparently this movie is a remake of another film by the same name which was distributed sometime in the 80's. Since I haven't seen the initial film I cannot compare it with this particular movie. Adding to my difficulties is the fact that the characters listed on IMDb are not the same characters that were in the movie. For example, the beautiful ghost played by Yifei Liu went by the name of "Siu Sin" and not "Nie Xiaoquin". No doubt the translation from Chinese to English has much to do with this. Additionally, the English subtitles on this film weren't of the highest caliber which helped only to a limited degree towards resolving what was clearly a strange and confusing movie to begin with. Be that as it may, from what I have figured out Siu Sin is a ghost who has been enslaved by a "Tree Demon" (similar to a succubus) named "Lou Lou" (Kara Hui). As a result Siu Sin is forced to seduce people who enter Lou Lou's temple on Black Mountain and then sucks the energy out of them--which in turn allows Lou Lou to gain strength. One day a demon hunter named ""Yan Chek Ha" (Louis Koo) appears and falls in love with Siu Sin. But in doing so he destroys his reputation with his master which causes him to go into isolation. A while later a minor government official named "Ning Caichen" (Shaoqun Yu) journeys to Black Mountain in search of water and finds Siu Sin in the temple. She initially attempts to seduce him but fails because of his innocence. This makes Lou Lou quite angry but before she can do anything about it Yan Chek Ha returns to Black Mountain with a vengeance of his own. Now, while it's quite possible that I may have missed something in translation I still enjoyed the movie for the most part. It had plenty of action and the CGI complemented the movie in a major way. There was also some good humor here and there as well. Likewise, it didn't hurt to have such a beautiful actress like Yifei Liu in a prominent role either. Again, it's a bit confusing but those who enjoy a decent Fantasy film might want to give this one a look. Over all, I rate it as slightly above average.

The Tsui Hark production "A Chinese Ghost Story" is without a doubt a seminal classic of Hong Kong cinema, successfully blending some of its signature elements like over-the-top action, overwrought emotions and a dizzying mix of various genres- in this instance, romance, comedy and horror. It is a tall task then to attempt a reinterpretation of it, but "Ip Man" director Wilson Yip has boldly attempted to go where no Hong Kong director has dared to tread.

It seems however that this reluctance has been for good reason- despite Yip's efforts at mimicking the hallmarks of the earlier film, his 2011 remake is a slapdash product with little actual merit. The ineptness of Yip's version is indeed appalling- especially considering his solid, if not outstanding, work on the two "Ip Man" movies- and in almost every respect proves to be inferior to Ching Siu-Tung's original. That is, except for its end credits- and only because it rehases the late Leslie Cheung's classic theme song.

Right from the beginning, one can sense that there is something amiss with the movie. A hastily-told prologue tries to establish- but fails to do so with any resonance- the doomed romance between demon slayer Yan Chi Xia (Louis Koo) and Nip Siu-Sin, or Xiao Qian (Liu Yifei) as she is more popularly known. Apparently, Cia Xia didn't have the heart to kill Siu-Sin when the time came for him to do so- instead, he erased her memory of their relationship and set her free, thereby also falling out with another demon slayer Thunder (played by Ip Man regular Fan Siu-Wong).

Fans of the original would already suspect the difference between the two, and true enough, the focus of Yip's movie seems to have shifted to the character of Chi Xia- in the process, setting up Leslie Cheung's Ning Cai Chen (played here by the terrible Chinese actor Yu Shaoqun) as a romantic rival instead to Chi Xia for Siu-Sin's affections. Cheung's classic character turns out to be the scholar a water-impoverished town turns to for assistance, and it is to solve their water woes that Cai Chen ventures into the mountains, meets Siu-Sin and lands up at Lan Tze Temple.

As with the original, the trio's common enemy is the Tree Demon, to whom Siu-Sin's spirit is enslaved to and with whom Chi Xia and Cai Chen will eventually battle against in a CG-heavy action-packed finale. The latter has Yip demonstrating the sure hand he had with the action sequences in "Ip Man", and is easily the best thing the movie has going for it. Complementing the fluid martial arts choreography (among the choreographers veteran Ma Yuk-Shing) is the impressive visual effects- done post-production in Korea- which only goes to show that the China film industry can very well handle CG as competently as its Hollywood counterparts.

Unfortunately, the hour before this climactic battle is one tedious slog, no thanks to a dreadful script by Cheung Tan (also equally guilty for the Chen Kaige dud 'The Promise'). Not only is the dialogue god-awful and filled with moments of unintentional humour, there is close to little characterisation- be it Chi Xia, Cai Chen, or Sui-Sin. Yip compensates for Cheung's bad scripting with a somewhat frenetic pace, but that's not enough to distract his audience from its flaws and repetitive scenes. Most importantly, the romantic triangle also fails to take off, and remains stuck in cutesy scenes (what's up with the feeding of sweets) that belong in a teenage fantasy. And because one never quite comes to believe in the star-crossed romance between human and demon, the finale also lacks the poignancy of the original.

Equally uninspired is the acting- or rather, the lack of it- on display. Louis Koo attempts to emote as one half in an ill-fated romance, but doesn't quite succeed. Yifei has the beguiling looks to go with her part, but lacks conviction. But the worst of the lot is Mainland actor Yu Shaoqun, who proves time and time again that he simply cannot act (if you've seen last year's Kung Fu Wing Chun, you'll agree too). His portrayal of the shy soft-spoken and good-hearted romantic lover is simply ingratiating and an utter insult to Leslie Cheung's nuanced performance. Ditto for Louis and Yifei, whose acting can't hold a candle to Wu Ma and Joey Wong's in the original.

There are however exceptions- Kara Hui is gleefully campy as the Tree Demon, while Elvis Tsui, who also starred in the original, offers some welcome comic relief as the chief of the village Cai Chen visits. Yet these are little consolation for a movie that never justifies its existence, paling in every respect to Ching Siu-Tong's classic. And the horror of it all? The filmmakers had the audacity to think that their efforts were worthy enough for them to dedicate this film to the late Leslie Cheung!