My most favorite in all of the movies I watched in the airplane during my Mexico adventure was The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom. As someone who believes she comes from the moon, this is a good choice. But imagine my surprise when the story was something I can very much relate to. Part of the reason why I chose this is because I was captivated by the female lead's beauty. I would learn later on from ny aunt in HK that the actress Fan Bingbing is very popular, and that she plays the role of Wu Zetian of the TV series of the same name which I occasionally watch with my mom.
This wuxia romance tells the story of an ill-fated love affair between a witch and a recently appointed head of a martial arts school. The two initially try to kill each other when Zhuo Yihang discovers a forbidden sutra carved on the rocks near the falls. This sutra is taught to Jade Rakshasha, the female leader of outlaws, by her female master. All throughout her life she lives believing that love is a poison. Her master is killed because of love, because of betrayal.
It should happen however that the two fall in love and learn to trust each other. But to complicate things, they are caught in a war as power struggle runs rampant in the court following the death of the emperor. Yihang is to clear his name after bein framed for this. Likewise, Rakshasha is framed for killing Yihang's grandfather, her beloved's only living relative.
The story gets a bit confusing as Yihang is suddenly betrothed to the eunuch's daughter. Here is one ofthe most dramatic scenes. Rakshasha storms their chamber and demands the truth. Yihang tells her to leave him alone. Feeling betrayed, Rakshasha leaves but is seen by the guards who beat her up. Weak from heartbreak she is not her usual self and is almost killed had Yihang not interferred. Before that, she transforms into a white haired witch.
Yihang realizes his mistake and seeks to cure Rakshasha. But by then everything becomes chaotic as the erstwhile impenetrable Lunar Kingdom falls into the hands of an ambitious general through cunning and deceit. The two lovers get imprisoned but both now know who the real enemy is. To save Yihang and what remains of Lunar Kingdom, Rakshasha chants the forbidden sutra to transform into a powerful witch. She breaks her chains and that of Yihang and the two fight the evil general. The expense paid by Rakshasha is that a part of her memory is lost so she knows neither friend nor foe.
In the end, as she falls down with Yihang following suit, she regains her memories, those sweet memories of Yihang giving her another name, and that time they slept together. And I was left crying hard. Dammit.
Story-wise, this movie needs much revision. It doesn't seem like a complete story and it would have been better if this were made in TV series instead. Lots of shortcuts thus the many unanswered questions. Like, what's the background of the soldier who infiltrated the outlaws but changed his mind later on when he sees how cruel the military he is serving is. However, this movie invests in many cheesy moments and nice fighting scenes, my fave of which is the first time the two lovers met.
And nice theme song... Except for some reason I do not know why I find the ending funny. Must be the poor choice of Cantopop music or maybe because the falling scene seems like something lifted from Final Fantasy.. Anyway I don't know and can't quite pinpoint what's wrong but it certainly doesn't hold together.
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I share the same view that love is a poison. It's an inconvenient abstraction with not much practical use. It makes one happy albeit for a short period of time. But it can cause great distraction [and therefore destruction]. Love wounds, but it also heals, certainly the world's biggest paradox.
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