The tale here is a familiar Chinese fable about the forbidden romance between a simple kind-hearted man and a snake demon who takes the form of a beautiful woman (previous screen incarnations include the Shaw Bros' 'Madam White Snake' and Tsui Hark's 'Green Snake'). And like action maestro and sometimes-director Tony Ching Siu-Tong's directorial debut 'A Chinese Ghost Story', it is set amidst a fantasy world where both humans and demons roam, with the latter taking on human form to deceive the former.
An action-packed opening sequence where Jet Li's sorcerer-monk Fahai- together with his protégé Neng Ren (Wen Zhang)- defeats the dangerously alluring Ice Witch (Vivian Hsu) establishes the malevolent nature of the demons, as well as Fahai's mission to vanquish those who threaten the lives of humans. It also serves as fair warning that this latest adaptation of the 'White Snake' legend is not simply an '80s-throwback (a la Wilson Yip's remake of 'A Chinese Ghost Story' earlier this year), but rather a 21st- century treatment using the latest advances in CGI to create some lavish backdrops for the multiple elaborate action sequences.
And warning indeed it is, for you'd best be advised to temper your expectations about the visual effects on display. Yes, while the booming China film industry can now easily rival its Hollywood counterpart on scale and spectacle, it still has a long way to go when it comes to CG imagery- and the amateurish special effects within the very first sequence will tell you as much. Thankfully, it gets better- and we mean much better- as the movie progresses, even managing to impress by the time it reaches the climactic showdown between Fahai and the White Snake.
Still, the strength in Tony Ching's film lies not in its showcase of modern-day CG techniques, but rather in its old-fashioned love story between 'White Snake' Bai Suzhen (Eva Huang) and young herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). This is the equivalent of 'Romeo and Juliet' for the Chinese audience, and Tony knows how to push the right buttons to engender a sweet affecting romance between the two leads. Much of the credit also goes to William Chang's vivid costume design and Zhai Tao's rich production design, which successfully create a fantastically beautiful landscape to evoke the passion behind the human-snake coupling.
There is also a surprisingly potent dose of humour in the screenplay by Zhang Tan, Tsan Kan-cheong and Szeto Cheuk-hon. Rather than let the film drown in its own seriousness, the trio inject some playfulness into their treatment of the fantasy. Neng Ren's transformation into a bat demon after being poisoned by one brings much levity to the proceedings, and Xu Xian's encounter with Suzhen's animal-turned-human 'parents' (Chapman To, Miriam Yeung and Lam Suet gleefully hamming it for broad laughs) is particularly campy but hilarious. Despite the slapstick, Tony maintains a firm grasp of the film's tone, and alternates between comedy, romance and drama with ease and confidence.
The same dexterity can also be said of his work as action director on the film, especially in his ability at integrating rather seamlessly the movements of his cast and the special effects added post-production. A battle between Fahai and Neng Ren against the bat-demon on Mid-Autumn night is an excellent case-in-point- ditto for the extended climax between Fahai and the White Snake set in the middle of the ocean. Admittedly however, none of the action sequences are particularly memorable- mostly because Jet Li only gets to spar against either a green screen or against 'green' martial arts actors like Eva Huang and Charlene Choi.
Still, Jet Li's stately presence shines through despite the CG distractions, and his undimmed screen charisma overcomes the shortcomings of the slightly underwritten role. The surprise here is however Eva's spirited (pardon the pun) performance, lively, vivacious and genuinely affecting in her demonstration of the White Snake's deep love for Xu Xian. Her Hong Kong counterparts Charlene and Raymond however pale far in comparison- their ho-hum performances of their essentially one-note characters easily forgettable.
But in spite of these shortcomings, this remains a richly entertaining brew of fantasy, romance and CGI- the supernatural world is vividly realised, the romance is surprisingly affecting and the CGI is also commendable by the standards of Chinese cinema. Much better than this year's 'Chinese Ghost Story' attempt at resurrecting the once- flourishing supernatural action genre, Tony Ching's latest is a sumptuous treat for the imagination. And of course, given the rarity of watching Jet Li in action on the big screen these days, 'The Sorcerer and the White Snake'
 The Sorcerer and the White Snake, previously known as, It's Love and Madame White Snake is a 2011 film directed by Ching Siu-tung and starring Jet Li. It is based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake. Production started in September 10, 2010 and ended on January 16, 2011.The film will be in 3-Dand was shown out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2011. It was released in Hong Kong on 29 September 2011.   PlotThe film starts with Abott Fahai with his assistant Neng Ren going to a front door to a snow blizzard. The ice harpy appears at the top of the mountains. Neng Ren starts to get her but the Ice Harpy freezes him. Fahai and the Ice Harpy start to talk then they start to fight each other. At the end of the battle, Fahai traps the Ice Harpy with his demon trapper which unfreezes Neng Ren. Fahai asks his assistant to confine her at Lei Feng Pagoda and the two of them goes back to the door which disappears when it closes. Later the films moves to Jin Shan temple, a place where monks pray to Amitabha. At Lei Feng Pagoda, Neng Ren goes upstairs to go to the magic circle where demons are trapped in. He tells the demons that if they make real progress in meditation, they well be released then traps the Ice Harpy in the circle. Then the movie now starts with mountains. One mountain has a waterfall and shows a naga slithering around while another one starts slithering with her. The two start enjoying their life and they look at the other mountains. Later, men who are climbing up the mountain to dig for herbs. The two nagas watch them while still looking for herbs. Qingqing, the green naga starts to give Xu Xian a scare which made him fall down the lake and Qingqing starts laughing. Susu assumes human form and saves Xu Xian. Susu kisses Xu Xian which makes a flow of vital essence. Later, Xu Xian wakes up and tells his friends what happened which only made them laugh. Soon, Fahai and Neng Ren found a victim of the bat demons, that they have to catch them tonight. They ride a boat while talking to Xu Xian. Susu starts thinking about the day she kissed Xu Xian. Their animal companions wonder why she's bothered. She explains that she wants to go to the human world just to see Xu Xian.Cast
ProductionLeading actors Ethan Ruan, Peter Ho, Mark Chao and Raymond Lam fought for the lead role in the film. In the end, Lam got the role. It was reported that Ruan and Chao were dropped as they were deemed to be not well known enough in China and Ho's image did not suit the male lead.Jet Li was announced to be part of the cast during early pre-production however his role was not revealed until September 2010, when some actors' roles were announced including Jet Li as Fa Hai, Eva Huang as White Snake, Raymond Lam as Xu Xian, Charlene Choi as Green Snake and Wen Zhang, whom Li invited to play his disciple Neng Ren. Regarding the action scenes, Jet Li said he had never been this exhausted before. Li says, Raymond Lam said he was always being hit by others, Filming wrapped on January 16, 2011. Originally titled Madame White Snake in English, the film logo was unveiled during the production wrap press conference with the new official English title, It's Love. However, the English title was changed to The Sorcerer and the White Snake when the distributor was announced. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cast
Cast overview:
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| Jet Li | ... |
Abott Fahai
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| Shengyi Huang | ... |
White Snake
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| Raymond Lam | ... |
Xu Xian
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| Charlene Choi | ... |
Green Snake
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| Zhang Wen | ... |
Neng Ren
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| Vivian Hsu | ... |
Snow Goblin
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| Miriam Yeung Chin Wah | ... |
Rabbit Devil
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| Kar-Ying Law | ... |
Mysterious Herbalist
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| Suet Lam | ... |
Chicken Devil
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| Chapman To | ... |
Toad Monster
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| Sonija Kwok | ... |
Bu Ming
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| Alfred Hsing | ... |
Monk
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| Wu Jiang | ... |
Turtle Devil
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