Two magical and ancient female snakes take human form and attempt to discover the pleasures of human love. But a bungling Taoist priest and a powerful Buddhist monk stand in their way.
One of Tsui Hark’s greatest contributions to Hong Kong film has been a love for Chinese fantasy that translates into vibrant and colorful films that push the boundaries of the genre. Green Snake is a particularly sensuous example that stars two of the most beautiful and talented actresses from the territory, Joey Wong and Maggie Cheung.
The film tackles a mythical realm visited in other efforts such as Golden Swallow (1987) where immortal creatures that inhabit the bodies of animals assume human form in order to share in the human experience, generally love. One twist to the myth that’s added is the necessity of the non-human to train for hundreds of years in order to become human. We see an aged spider’s years of training destroyed when a powerful Buddhist Monk named Faat Hoi (Vincent Zhao) permanently takes away his ability to transform. Faat Hoi’s mission is to essentially police the non-human world and keep the two separated as it apparently should be. This inevitably leads to a bitter confrontation with two snakes who have been training to become human.
Joey Wong plays White Snake (not to be confused with the hard rock band) and her sister is Maggie Cheung who plays the title character, Green Snake. Wong is the more responsible of the two and has an extra 500 years of training to help her be more human. It doesn’t take long for her to find a lover in a scholar named Hui Sin (Wu Hsing-guo). The two settle with Green Snake in a lush home that is nothing more than an illusion.
It is an interesting irony that Green Snake is ultimately the most sensuous, although she is unable to fathom human emotions. But part of the reason may lie with Maggie Cheung who is easily one of the most beautiful Asian actresses around. She’s played many roles from Jackie Chan’s goofy girlfriend in the Police Story series to a stoic and stately assassin in Hero (2002). Tsui Hark knew exactly what he was doing when he cast her in this role. She literally oozes sensuality and that’s pretty remarkable considering that she’s occasionally seen with a snake’s tail in place of legs. Then you have imagery of Cheung and Wong acting extraordinarily friendly towards one another, once soaked in the rain on a rooftop and later in a bath. I would stop short of saying this film contained lesbian softcore, but it sure feels like it could begin at any time.
Taking a step back from that slippery slope, let’s return to the story. Poor Hui Sin doesn’t know that he’s bedding a snake and having Green Snake and her teasing ways around to confuse his amorous mind only adds to his befuddlement. A blind Taoist priest (Lau Kong) identifies the snakes and attempts to flush them out, but his power pales next to White Snake’s magical abilities. But the same does not happen when Faat Hoi comes a calling. He is every bit a match for White Snake, but its Green Snake that proves to be his undoing. She is obsessed with finding human emotion in him while he is equally obsessed with remaining untouched by lust. The fool actually invites Green Snake to test him. Any straight guy who says he could ignore having Maggie Cheung plastered on him would be a dirty liar! Faat Hoi loses with questionably tasteful, but humorous results. But instead of giving in, he becomes bitterer and this proves tragic for everyone. He forcibly takes the scholar away to save him from himself and to repent to Buddha. The snake sisters vow to release him from confinement and a magical battle employing flood waters, a massive monk’s robe, a magical dragon, and hundreds of chanting monks on an island temple begins.
Green Snake is a beautifully shot fantasy with great effects and outrageous scenes that you could not possibly see anywhere else, but in a Hong Kong film. But Tsui Hark is smarter than the average filmmaker and while at his best, infuses even his most unusual films with social commentary. In this case, its apparent that Tsui is declaring conformity to be a greater evil than worldly vices. The film presents a morally ambiguous world where no one is outright evil or pure, except for the very beginning of the film. Grotesquely deformed figures cavort about as Faat Hoi looks on declaring humanity to be corrupt. This is only how he views the world, but as we find out, he is not above recrimination.
This is a great fantasy film that combines rich and fanciful imagery and sexy performances from Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong. Although Vincent Zhao would have been more than capable of performing a lot of martial arts, the action is mostly relegated to magic use, as it should be for a film of this nature. Fans of Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain and A Chinese Ghost Story should be especially entertained.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Green Snake (1993)
