The Sorcerer And The White Snake is a Chinese classic with a fresh twist.
WITH such an ominous sounding title, The Sorcerer And The White Snake is actually a love story packaged in an action-packed fantasy epic.
Formerly known as It’s Love and Madame White Snake, The Sorcerer And The White Snake is based on the oft-told Chinese classic Legend Of The White Snake, a delightful affair which movie buffs will remember was best told in Tsui Hark’s 1993 Green Snake (starring Maggie Cheung, Joey Wang, Vincent Zhao and Wu Hsing Kuo).
Helmed by multiple award-winning Hong Kong action choreographer-turned-director Tony Ching Siu-tung, the updated fantasy romance stars Jet Li, Eva Huang, Raymond Lam, Charlene Choi, Vivian Hsu and Wen Zhang.
Good vs evil: Sorceror monk Fa Hai (Jet Li) fighting with Snow Goblin (Vivian Hsu) in fantasy epic The Sorceror And The White Snake. Playing the star-crossed lovers White Snake and Xu Xian, Chinese actress Huang, 28, and Hong Kong actor Lam, 31, spoke of their experiences on the set of The Sorcerer And The White Snake in separate phone interviews from Hong Kong recently.
Portraying the dashing herbalist Xu Xian in the movie, Lam reportedly beat Taiwanese actors like Ethan Ruan, Mark Chao and Peter Ho to win the coveted role.
“Tony and Jet are both my idols. I’ve watched practically every movie of theirs. When I first heard that I was offered the role, I was both surprised and elated. While I was very happy, I was also nervous because this was a classic tale after all. And with classics, everybody already has preconceived notions about the characters in the story. So our interpretation of these characters may not be the same as what others have in mind.
White Snake (Eva Huang) and Xu Xian (Raymond Lam) fall in love and marry, but their union is not sanctioned by Fa Hai. “I feel that this version of the character I play is very different from previous renditions. Other interpretations of Xu Xian that I’ve seen have always portrayed him as a weak and timid fellow. I don’t recall him doing anything for White Snake at all. It’s always White Snake who sacrifices everything for him, never the other way round.
“This version is different and should appeal to the youth of today who will identify with how beautifully tragic this classic romance truly is. In the end, it takes mutual sacrifice to touch people’s hearts. So, I feel this version of Xu Xian is more of a man,” Lam declared to laughs all around.
Queried about his underwater love scene with Huang, Lam said the scene was very romantic but also very challenging.
“Because of the long hours of being submerged underwater, we were soaked till our skin was all wrinkled. The scene took two days to film and was the most difficult of all. Being a costume flick, taking to the water is quite difficult. Moreover, there were two of us to manoeuvre. The outcome may look very beautiful, but it was truly difficult to film in the water.”
During the second day of filming in the swimming pool, Lam also related how they were wrapping their last shot when more anti-bacterial chemicals were added into the water.
“My eyes started to tear and redden, until I couldn’t even open them. I had to rest for awhile.
“That particular scene was not a very long one but it took two days to film due to factors that were beyond our control, in particular Eva’s hair and her costume.
“It was an action shot requiring constant movement, and a very romantic scene to film. Sometimes her hair would get in the way, obstructing the frame or obscuring the face. And at other times, her robes did not float as beautifully as intended. So, that scene alone required dozens of takes,” Lam lamented
Taking on the physically challenging role of White Snake who had to combat sorcerers, fairies, goblins and demons alike, Huang had even more action scenes which required lots of wire work.
“After many years of shooting action epics, Tony wanted to experiment with fresh elements. Hence, there were lots of very difficult action sequences and stuff that has never been seen before this.
“It’s not as simple as just flying around any more. Now, there are lots of spinning around in mid-air and coordination with other stunts and special equipment. The scenes were very difficult so I’m lucky in that I did not suffer from any serious injuries. There were some bumps and bruises or grazes and sometimes even chaffing or swelling caused by the wires. They were just minor injuries so I count myself very fortunate indeed,” shared the slender lass.
“Whether it’s the action or emotion, its all been quite challenging. From leaping off the edge of the cliff to being submerged underwater for days and suspended from various wires plus fighting with Jet Li,” enthused Huang, who is starring in one of her biggest roles to-date.
“When it came to the emotional scenes, there’d be a fan blowing in my face all the time, to give my long hair and flowy robes that ethereal effect. But, with the huge fan blowing so strongly in my face, even very simple lines took a lot of effort. While the result was really beautiful, filming was very tough. Plus it was winter with temperatures below zero, and I was wearing such sheer and skimpy materials. Even my lips felt like they were in constant combat.”
Production on the Chinese blockbuster (available in 3D in Hong Kong and China) commenced in September last year and ended in January this year. The film was screened out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival early this month.
The tale revolves around White Snake (Huang) and Green Snake (Choi), who are serpents whose thousand years of spiritual training have accorded them immortality, super powers and the ability to morph into human form. In the guise of beautiful women, they mingle freely with unsuspecting humans.
White Snake falls in love with herbalist Xu Xian, so they get married with the help of Green Snake. However, this doesn’t go down well with sorcerer monk Fa Hai (Li), who feels such relationships are against the laws of nature. Meanwhile, his disciple Nengren (Wen) is drawn to Green Snake.
Also, they have to contend with an assortment of other worldly creatures like the Snow Goblin (Hsu), Rabbit Devil (Miriam Yeung), Toad Monster (Chapman To), Turtle Devil (Jiang Wu) and Chicken Devil (Lam Suet).
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