Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection

[Hebrew Hammer]

Interestingly her armor looks a lot like Samurai layered armor as apposed to Chinese...the whip is a nice touch. I usually pay extra for that.

Now if I had to pick a Demoness to be seduced by here, because I deal with this exact issue in my every day life, I'm leaning towards Zhou Xun! If she would only return my calls...

[GeneChing]

Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection: Film Review
10:34 AM PDT 6/17/2012 by Deborah Young

The Bottom Line
Spectacular if blemished Chinese fantasy aiming for high lyricism should pull in female viewers and fans of the 2008 original.

Cast
Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei (Vicki Zhao), Chen Kun,Yang Mi, Chen Tingjia, Feng Shaofeng (William Feng), Fei Xiang (Kris Phillips)

Director
Wu Ershan

Screenwriters
Ran Ping, Ran Jianan

The sequel to the 2008 film by Gordon Chan kicked off the Shanghai International Film Festival Sunday.

The unbridled visual creativity of big-budget Chinese fantasy films offers a thrilling entry point into Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection, a spectacular mythological period piece that segues from the 2008 film directed by Gordon Chan. But the bigger the expectations, the harder they fall, and many scenes fail discouragingly to live up to the director Wu Ershan’s (The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman) lyrical ambitions, when not downright ridiculous. The result is a roller-coaster of a film that will divide audiences particularly along gender lines, having greater appeal for female viewers both because it is fundamentally a love story with a noble, long-haired, romantic hero, and thanks to the presence of four strong and powerful women characters who run the show. The print screened at the opening of the Shanghai Film Festival was breathtaking in 2D, though a 3D release is planned in China at the end of June.

This classic Chinese ghost story refuses to die, having been adapted for the screen a number of times by directors as illustrious as King Hu. Here the tale follows from its predecessor: Xiaowei (Zhou Xun, reprising her role) is a fox demon who has been imprisoned under ice after saving the lives of human beings in Painted Skin I. Her beautiful face attracts the attention of the female bird demon Quer (Yang Mi), who pecks her out of the ice, effectively reopening a Pandora’s box of trouble.

To regain her youth and beauty, Xiaowei is obliged to devour human hearts, and her first victim is a luscious barbarian prince who will come back to haunt her in the final scenes. But what she really wants is to become human, and that requires a warm, innocent human heart freely given. The rules governing demons are quite intricate, and easily spoofed in the character of comic demon-hunter Pang (Feng Shaofeng) who gets romantic with the bird demon in her pixie-ish human guise.

The main story, however, belongs to Princess Jing (Zhao Wei) and her dashing young guard General Huo Xin (Chen Kun). Jing was mauled by a bear when she was 15, and Huo Xin fled the court in shame at not protecting her. Now, eight years later, she wears a mysterious gold mask on a quarter of her beautiful face, hiding the scars that disfigure her. Donning a man’s armor, she crosses China to find her true love Huo Xin, though his status will never allow them to marry, and though she’s betrothed to the very same Tian Liang barbarian prince that Xiaowei seemed to have dispatched. But never say never in this film. Feeling rebuffed by Huo Xin for her looks (though his reasons for coyness are utterly noble), the aching princess turns for help to the fox demon Xiaowei, who proposes they swap faces and bodies, at the price of taking possession of Jing’s warm heart.

Between Princess Jing, the fox spirit Xiaowei, the cute but powerful bird demon and the fur-clad barbarian princess (Chen Tingjia), there’s not a weak lady in the house. Performances run surprisingly deep, and the bond that links Jing and Xiaowei, in particular, rings very true in spite of the square-off between divas Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei. Women will certainly identify with a lot that is going on here: selfish and selfless love, sacrificing everything for a man, fighting off rivals for his affection, and the frantic search for youth and beauty to capture his heart (mythological “plastic surgery” is clearly a mistake in this story, shown in a poetically-grisly scene of mask-switching.)

On the other hand, all auds will enjoy the visuals and the extraordinary animation sequences that carry the story when it soars high, along with scattered but well-handled fight scenes that show off the superhuman prowess of the young general. His ability to snag a falling coin with an arrow, even blindfolded, gives way to wrestling with giant warriors and snarling wolf-slaves in spectacular later scenes.

The unsuccessful parts are linked to the disappointing depiction of the Tian Liang barbarians, who live in a city carved out of rock beyond China’s Western border. Leading the brood is a tattooed grand wizard (Taiwan pop singer and Broadway performer Fei Xiang a.k.a. Kris Phillips) with a Spiderman halo and shaven head. If the elaborate costumes of Jing’s forces seem inspired by the Terracotta Army, their rivals take their cue from animals, in manners as well as apparel, while their black magic rituals are a laughable throwback to long-outgrown film stereotyping. All this compromises the climactic scenes as Huo Xin’s army storms the barbarians’ Game of Thrones-style fortress, though even here there are moments of great beauty and fantasy.

Bottom line: Spectacular if blemished Chinese fantasy aiming for high lyricism should pull in female viewers and fans of the 2008 original.

Venue: Shanghai Film Festival (opening film), June 17, 2012.

Production companies: Ningxia Film Corp., Dinglangda Culture Development, H. Brothers, Kylin Films
Cast: Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei (Vicki Zhao), Chen Kun,Yang Mi, Chen Tingjia, Feng Shaofeng (William Feng), Fei Xiang (Kris Phillips)
Director: Wu Ershan
Screenwriters: Ran Ping, Ran Jianan
Producers: Pang Hong, Wang Zhonglei
Executive producers: Tao Kun, Pang Yong
Director of photography: Huang Yuetai
Production designer: Hao Yi
Editor: Xiao Yang
Music. Katsunori Ishida
Sales Agent: Huayi Brothers
No rating, 132 minutes

"This classic Chinese ghost story refuses to die"... love that line.

[GeneChing]

June 18, 2012, 6:03 PM HKT
‘Painted Skin’ Sequel Opens Shanghai Film Fest
By Dean Napolitano

“Painted Skin: The Resurrection,” China’s latest big-budget action movie, kicked off the Shanghai International Film Festival over the weekend.

A sequel to 2008′s “Painted Skin,” the film reunites most of the original’s cast, including Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Chen Kun. Notably absent this time around is kung-fu star Donnie Yen.

“Painted Skin: The Resurrection,” whose budget is reportedly as high as 150 million yuan ($23.5 million), also features a new director, Wuershan, who replaces the original film’s Gordon Chan. Singularly named and hailing from Inner Mongolia, Wuershan is known for his commercial work and made his feature-film debut in 2010 with “The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman,” a martial-arts black comedy about a large blade traversing ownership among three men.

Set in ancient China, “Painted Skin: The Resurrection” is about a demon (Ms. Zhou) who consumes the hearts of men to remain young and beautiful, and the pursuit of true love that will transform her into a human. Critics praised the sequel’s cinematography and costumes but knocked what they described as the movie’s “paper-thin characters and incoherent story.”

The Hollywood Reporter said “many scenes fail discouragingly to live up to” the director’s “lyrical ambitions, when not downright ridiculous.” But trade publication Film Business Asia described it as a “very entertaining, slightly over-long costume fantasy whose performances and sheer technique carry a script that often punches above its weight.”

“Painted Skin: The Resurrection” opens across China on June 28 and in early July in other parts of Asia.

Follow Dean Napolitano on Twitter @NapolitanoWSJ

I liked tBtC&tS, so I'm hopeful Wuershan can pull this off.

[Sardinkahnikov]

I must say that this looks incredibly silly. I mean, "Erotic Ghost Story"? Please.

And this coming from a guy who loves the Bill & Ted movies.

[GeneChing]

EGS was made back in the late 80s, during the Fant-ASIA movement. It was huge for Amy Yip (and if you don't know her, you don't know HK Cat III films). She was in one of my all time fav HK flicks Blue Jean Monster.

"Painted Skin 2" Grosses 6 Million at First Round of Screening
2012-06-29 10:27:48 Chinese Films

Wang Zhonglei (right), Zhou Xun (center) and Chen Kuo-fu(right) attended a fan meeting event of "Painted Skin 2." [Photo: Mtime.com]

Wang Zhonglei, CEO of Huayi Bros, announced at a fan meeting event yesterday in Beijing that the fantasy movie "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" had grossed 6 million yuan (US$943,000) after its first round of screening, Mtime.com reports.

Actress Zhou Xun and producer of the movie Chen Kuo-fu were also spotted at the event.

According to Wang, over 200,000 people watched the movie at midnight across the country, which set a new record for domestic movies. The revenue ranked third place for the first day of screening at China cinemas, right after "Transformers 3" (12 million yuan/US$1.88 million) and Titanic 3D (10 million yuan/US$1.57 million).

The movie was highly praised by audiences that said it had superior special effects, costume designs and cinematography.

"Painted Skin: The Resurrection" is screened only in 3D currently.

By Chen Nan

[GeneChing]

I'm pretty eager to see this, not only because of its significance to Chinese cinema now, but because I'm intrigued by Wuershan's work and have been crushing on Zhao since Shaolin Soccer. I saw the first installment mostly because Donnie was in it.

Painted Skin puts China back on top
By Stephen Cremin
Wed, 04 July 2012, 09:15 AM (HKT)
Box Office News

Wuershan 烏爾善's Painted Skin: The Resurrection 畫皮Ⅱ broke box office records in China this weekend where it had the biggest opening yet for a local film.

The 130-minute action-fantasy-romance, screening exclusively in 3-D, grossed RMB298 million ($47.3 million) on 6.65 million admissions over four days at an average ticket price of RMB45 ($7.13). Tickets in Beijing retailed for as much as RMB120 ($19.02), in line with prices for Hollywood 3-D films in China.

It is historically the third highest opening in China, following this year's 3-D revival of Titanic (1997) and last year's Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Titanic took RMB468 million ($74.2 million) in its first six days; Transformers, also shown in 3-D, took RMB401 million ($63.6 million) in its first four days in cinemas.

By comparison, Avatar (2009) took RMB287 million ($45.5 million at current exchange rates) in its first week on release. Strong demand and a shortage of 3-D screens at the time contributed to the science-fiction film's record 10-week run at the top of the box office, a feat that Resurrection will likely not match.

However, Resurrection will likely dominate local cinemas in the coming weeks and exceed $100 million. New films opening this month include Patrick LEUNG 梁柏堅's Wu Dang 大武當之天地密碼, CHEN Kaige 陳凱歌's Caught in the Web 搜索, and The Four 四大名捕, co-directed by Gordon CHAN 陳嘉上.

Although Hollywood films — including The Hunger Games, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Men In Black 3 and The Avengers — are still playing in Chinese cinemas, there are no US films scheduled to open in China until 25 June. That date marks the belated release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1.

It has been 24 weeks — almost six months — since another Chinese film topped the local box office charts, Derek YEE 爾冬陞's The Great Magician 大魔術師 in mid-January. The dominance of Hollywood films — in particular 3-D films — has been a major concern for the local industry this year.

Resurrection is co-produced and distributed by Huayi Brothers Media Corporation 華誼兄弟傳媒股份有限公司. After a lukewarm 2011, during which it focused on production, it has a strong lineup of titles in post-production including FENG Xiaogang 馮小剛's war drama 1942 一九四二.

Huayi's previous box office successes include Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame 狄仁杰之通天帝國 (2010) (RMB109 million in five days), Aftershock 唐山大地震 (2010) (RMB180 million in four days) and If You are the One II 非誠勿擾Ⅱ (2010) (RMB210 million in five days).

In 2008, Gordon Chan's Painted Skin 畫皮 (2008) made approximately RMB232 million on its theatrical run in China. Resurrection reunites most of the original cast but is officially not a sequel. The decision to convert the new film to 3-D was first announced during the Cannes Film Festival in May.

[GeneChing]

Vicky Zhao is wearing my shirt!! I've been looking for it all morning!

"Painted Skin 2" Sets Seven New Records for Chinese Films
2012-07-03 14:22:02 Chinese Films

"Painted Skin 2" sets seven new records for Chinese films. [Photo: xinhua]

A ****tail-party celebrating the box office success of "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" was held yesterday in Beijing. According to a report on Xinhuanet.com, the movie had set seven new records for Chinese films.

Producer Pang Hong announced at the occasion that the movie had generated 300 million yuan (US$47.1 million) after four days of screening.

It set seven news records for domestic films including: the highest box office revenue at midnight (6 million yuan/US$942,000); the highest box office revenue at first day of screening (70 million yuan/ US$1.099 million), the highest box office revenue for a single day (90 million yuan/ US$1.413 million), the fastest time to break a cumulative (cume) of 200 million yuan (US$31.4 million) in 2 days; the fastest time to break a cume of 300 million yuan (US$47.1 million); and the highest box office revenue for a first week of screening and a single week of screening.

Wang Zhonglei, the CEO of Huayi Bros., expressed his gratitude towards the production team and the movie's cast.

Leading actors Vicky Zhao, Chen Kun and Fei Xiang were also present at the event to enjoy the news.

By Chen Nan

I so wish that was my shirt she was wearing...

Painted Skin: The Resurrection
Posted: 4 Jul 2012

It could have been titled Painted Skin: The Resurrection of an Exhausted Story for a Bigger Buck. Four years after Hong Kong director Gordon Chan coaxed a heartbreaking film of unconditional love from an oft-adapted short story in the supernatural classic Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, the ‘franchise’ is passed on to the Mongolia-born artist-turned TV commercials director-turned filmmaker Wuershan, whose irrepressible visual flair and penchant for the ultra-stylish (witness his feature debut The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman) seems to have found its perfect home with this mega-budget production.

In the first movie, the temptress fox demon Xiao Wei (played by Zhou Xun) was tortured by her love for an army commander (Chen Kun) who’s happily married to a dutiful wife (Zhao Wei), eventually getting punished for her bid to save the mortal couple. Set 500 years after the original’s story, this loosely connected sequel sees Xiao Wei finally being freed from her centuries-long imprisonment under ice, upon when she swiftly comes across a royal guard-cum-general (Huo Xin, again by Chen) and the slightly disfigured princess (Jing, again by Zhao) who’s been carrying a torch for him despite a separation of more than eight years.

The fact that the star-crossed lovers are again played by Chen and Zhao is implicitly a consequence of reincarnation – and explicitly a result of the original’s enormous box office draw. More narrative impasse arrives in the form of Huo Xin’s inexplicable reluctance to return Jing’s affection, and the movie’s lack of a dramatic core is highlighted by its central ‘mystery’ – steadfastly maintained by Chen, who looks as if he’s forbidden to emote – that’s about the only issue setting the plot going: is the scarred Jing no longer pretty enough for her indecisive former bodyguard? Or is he just not that into her?

Such trivial matters of the heart rarely make for an engaging epic, and The Resurrection’s major dilemma – whether Jing should trade her heart (and human status) for Xiao Wei’s beautiful look (and the demon’s constant need to devour human hearts) – plays out like an unwitting riff on Kim Ki-duk’s Time, in which a woman resorts to cosmetic surgeries to win back her beau. Wuershan’s luxurious, effects-driven feature may have presented us with a most spectacularly picturesque world of fantasy; at its heart, however, this tacky and meandering effort is but a very poor man’s Vertigo.

Edmund Lee

Dir Wuershan, category IIB, 131 mins, opens on July 5

Waiting on that first KFM review here...

[omarthefish]

I must say that this looks incredibly silly. I mean, "Erotic Ghost Story"? Please.

And this coming from a guy who loves the Bill & Ted movies.

That bugged me too but for different reasons. "Erotic Ghost Story" is a made up name with very little relationship to the original Chinese that they were "translating". The movies are based on a monster from an actual classic collection of ancient Chinese folktales but the more standard English name for the text is "Tales of The Strange". It's kind of like a Chinese Grim's fairy tales.

edit: here's a wiki on "Erotic Ghost Story": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liao_Zhai
from the wiki:

The main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals and demons, but the author actually focused on people’s real life. He used those oddities to illustrate his ideas of the society and the government. He criticized the corruption and unjustness in the society and sympathized on those poor people. There are four main themes in this collection.

First is to complain the feudal system where everyone is not equal. The author exposed that many officers and rich people committed crime without punishment just because they had privilege. This theme can be found in these stories, such as “the Cricket”, “Xi Fangping”, and “Shang Sanguan” The author was angry with the unfairness of the feudal government.

Secondly, the author disclosed the corrupt examination system at that time. Because Songling had taken imperial exams, he had real experience and found that the exams were unfair. Many students cheated and bribed examiners or the officers who graded their paper. In addition, this education system has destroyed the scholars’ mind and ruined their creativity. Stories, such as “Kao San Sheng”, “Ya Tou”, and “Scholar Wang Zi-an”, contain this theme.

Third theme is to admire the pure and faithful love between the poor scholars and powerless women. Songling wrote many stories about the love between beautiful and kind female ghosts and poor students. The author highly praised those women who helped their lovers or husbands to achieve success and took care of their husbands’ life. Readers can find those good-looking and kind-hearted female ghosts or foxes in the stories like “Lian Xiang”, “Yingning” and “Nie Xiaoqian”.

Fourth is to criticize people’s immoral behavior and to educate people by those stories. The author embedded some moral standards and Taoist principles into the stories, so they are like parables, such as “Painted Skin” and “The Taoist of Lao Mountain”

Oddly enough, this movie caught my eye because when PS1 (the movie, not the gaming system) came out, completely by coincidence, I was preparing a presentation on the original for a course I was taking at college. The only thing the movie(s) have to do with the original Chinese tale is the general idea of the monster. Like most of the stories in Liao Zhai Zhi Yi (Tales of the Strange) the protagonist is not a badass army general but rather a shy intellectual with no money. Wiki has a decent summary of "Painted Skin" but it differs a bit from how I remember it. It gets the gist across though.

Anyways, a hell of a lot of Chinese action movies have been based (very loosely) on stories from Liao Zhai. There's another one out very recently about some guys who get lost inside a painting in a temple and in the world of the painting there is also a painting of the "real" world that they came from. The supernatural people on the other side tell "fantastic" stories about the "strange" world in their painting. Very meta. Also several hundred years old.