Make no mistake about it this is a love story of many shades, with the ultimate glorification of "love conquers all". Cynics may sneer but even if the sincerity in "Painted skin" does not win conviction, it garners sympathy.
To introduce this movie as the latest adaptation from the famous Chinese literature ghost story could be misleading. The movie in fact goes to great length of AVOIDING being scary. As director Gordon Chan ("A-1 headline" (2004)) explains in an interview: "this is a story of romance where six characters speak for themselves about love". The movie does indeed adapt the ghost story, but only as an anchor for the love stories. Also, the movie talks about "monsters" and not "ghosts", in order to get through the movie censor authority of the Mainland of China, to whom ghost is an absolute no-no but monsters are tolerated. While this hardly seems to matter to the audience, it means a potential market of hundreds of millions to the producers.
The plot is simple, even when it involves a double-triangle (or whatever geometrical form that is a more appropriate description) of entangled love relationships. At the centre of it all is a girl Xiaowei rescued from a battle scene by General Wang Chen and taken into his household, and becoming the darling to everybody. Xiaowei, a monster that feed on raw human hearts, falls in love with Wang and plots to usurp the place of his wife Peirong who soon suspects something. Into the scenes blunders Pang Yong, derelict loner and ex-general (Wang's old boss), as well as an old rival for Peirong, who now seeks his help to check out her fears. A chance encounter brings to Pang's side a young woman Xia Bin "Summer Ice", a "ghost-buster" hot on the trail of Xiaowei. Finally, to complete the double triangle is another monster (one that reminds you of Toad in X-men) hopelessly in love with Xiaowei but only able to please her by bringing freshly snatched human hearts (sometime served, sliced, in a bento box).
The various shades of emotions and passions between these three men and women (loosely defined) is explored deftly by director Chan, parading different levels of infatuation, obsession, devotion from subtle to fiery, from deviously possessive to nobly selfless. The movie is so delightfully unpretentious that it's almost nostalgic. In the end, love conquers all a little naïve, a bit idealistic, seen it, been there and yet so refreshingly simple that it's not difficult to empathize. And this is not the least because of the good acting.
ZHOU Xun, irresistible to the audience just as Xiaowei is irresistible to almost everyone in the story, pulls off the final conversion of a ruthless monster consumed in selfish passion to someone that finally realizes what true love really means with a degree of conviction that very few others can achieve. CHEN Kun (who played another love triangle with ZHOU in "The little Chinese seamstress", with LIU Ye as the third) look more like a scholar than a general as Weng, but that hardly matters because he is winning as the faithful husband who chooses to die with his wife that he is tricked into believing to be the monster. Vicky ZHOU Wei was told by director Chan to "grow up" and stop relying on her "cuteness" did just that in this movie, playing the most sympathy-earning roll as a wife who makes the ultimate, unspeakable sacrifice for love. Donny YEN fulfills his role in his favourite persona a loner hero with a temper of fire and a heart of gold. Betty SUN (in "Fearless" with Jet Li) provides good support as the tom-boyish monster-hunter who keeps stumbling when fighting with hate but finds herself (and her power) when driven by love.
For those not satisfied with just the love story, there is Donny Yen's martial art action (and I happen to be one who thinks that he is the best since Bruce Lee). For cinematic effects, a frequent moviegoer will be able to catch glimpses of familiarity the wall-and-roof chase scene in "Crouching tiger", the tongue shooting act in "X-man", the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't monster in "Predators", just to name a few.
To introduce this movie as the latest adaptation from the famous Chinese literature ghost story could be misleading. The movie in fact goes to great length of AVOIDING being scary. As director Gordon Chan ("A-1 headline" (2004)) explains in an interview: "this is a story of romance where six characters speak for themselves about love". The movie does indeed adapt the ghost story, but only as an anchor for the love stories. Also, the movie talks about "monsters" and not "ghosts", in order to get through the movie censor authority of the Mainland of China, to whom ghost is an absolute no-no but monsters are tolerated. While this hardly seems to matter to the audience, it means a potential market of hundreds of millions to the producers.
The plot is simple, even when it involves a double-triangle (or whatever geometrical form that is a more appropriate description) of entangled love relationships. At the centre of it all is a girl Xiaowei rescued from a battle scene by General Wang Chen and taken into his household, and becoming the darling to everybody. Xiaowei, a monster that feed on raw human hearts, falls in love with Wang and plots to usurp the place of his wife Peirong who soon suspects something. Into the scenes blunders Pang Yong, derelict loner and ex-general (Wang's old boss), as well as an old rival for Peirong, who now seeks his help to check out her fears. A chance encounter brings to Pang's side a young woman Xia Bin "Summer Ice", a "ghost-buster" hot on the trail of Xiaowei. Finally, to complete the double triangle is another monster (one that reminds you of Toad in X-men) hopelessly in love with Xiaowei but only able to please her by bringing freshly snatched human hearts (sometime served, sliced, in a bento box).
The various shades of emotions and passions between these three men and women (loosely defined) is explored deftly by director Chan, parading different levels of infatuation, obsession, devotion from subtle to fiery, from deviously possessive to nobly selfless. The movie is so delightfully unpretentious that it's almost nostalgic. In the end, love conquers all a little naïve, a bit idealistic, seen it, been there and yet so refreshingly simple that it's not difficult to empathize. And this is not the least because of the good acting.
ZHOU Xun, irresistible to the audience just as Xiaowei is irresistible to almost everyone in the story, pulls off the final conversion of a ruthless monster consumed in selfish passion to someone that finally realizes what true love really means with a degree of conviction that very few others can achieve. CHEN Kun (who played another love triangle with ZHOU in "The little Chinese seamstress", with LIU Ye as the third) look more like a scholar than a general as Weng, but that hardly matters because he is winning as the faithful husband who chooses to die with his wife that he is tricked into believing to be the monster. Vicky ZHOU Wei was told by director Chan to "grow up" and stop relying on her "cuteness" did just that in this movie, playing the most sympathy-earning roll as a wife who makes the ultimate, unspeakable sacrifice for love. Donny YEN fulfills his role in his favourite persona a loner hero with a temper of fire and a heart of gold. Betty SUN (in "Fearless" with Jet Li) provides good support as the tom-boyish monster-hunter who keeps stumbling when fighting with hate but finds herself (and her power) when driven by love.
For those not satisfied with just the love story, there is Donny Yen's martial art action (and I happen to be one who thinks that he is the best since Bruce Lee). For cinematic effects, a frequent moviegoer will be able to catch glimpses of familiarity the wall-and-roof chase scene in "Crouching tiger", the tongue shooting act in "X-man", the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't monster in "Predators", just to name a few.