Fantasia 2012: ‘The Sorcerer and the White Snake’ – a disappointing effort all around

The Sorcerer and the White Snake

Directed by Ching Siu-tung

Written by Charcoal Tan, Tsang Kan-Cheung, Szeto Cheuk-Hon

Hong Kong/China, 2011

Adapted, one assumes loosely, from an ancient Chinese legend, The Sorcerer and the White Snake reveals the tale of how two worlds, the world of humans and the world of demons, collid together for love despite tradition dictating for years that they should not. Two snake demons, the white snake Susu (Eva Huang) and the green snake QingQing (Charlene Choi), each fall for two different human men, propelling their respective universes into tremendous conflict, particularly when the great monk Fahai (Jet Li), constantly on the prowl for such monsters as the snake woman, learns of their infatuation. Is it true that love conquers all, or shall old divides keep everyone apart?

We live in a day and age in which hundreds of films employ the assistance of computer generated technology to enhance movies. There is an entire legion of people who show their disliking for CG like war veterans wear their medals with the highest honour. For me, CG, when used in the right doses and for the right purposes (which is what eludes filmmakers all too often), it can be a terrific visual tool. One need only watch Avatar as a prime example…

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