-AW
"The Bride With White Hair" is yet another entry into the prolific HK costume fantasy genre. It stars Hong Kong mega-star Leslie Cheung, and Bridgette Lin. Ever since "A Chinese Ghost Story" burst onto the scene in 1987, many a producer has tried to cash in on it's success. Fancy wire tricks, and streaming toilet paper roles have become the norm. Fantasy genre films have pretty much become a dime a dozen. Director Ronny Yu has set out to create something new, and to some extent he has succeeded. The wire quotient is pretty low, but instead of reams of toilet paper being strewn across the screen, we have an antagonist with a "medusa" like control over her hair. It seems she can grow extensions at will. Reaching out with it, she can ensnare victims with a but a thought. Yu does have a different picture here. It is more a mood piece, than an "actioner" relying on romance rather than swordplay. Unfortunately, it this effort to be different that ultimately brings the film down. Let's face it, action and comedy are what Hong Kong Cinema does best. When you skimp on both, the results usually aren't very good.
"The Bride With White Hair", set in the time of the Ming Dynasty, is essentially an adult fairy tale. The Wu Tang Clan, a collection of 8 ancient clans, is at war with a rival cult founded by Siamese twins who were expelled years earlier. The hitch is Cho Yi-Hang, the man in charge of leading the Wu Tang troops, has fallen in love with one of the cult's assassins. Lian Nichang, "Wolf Girl", is bound by a debt of honor to Ji Wu Shang who found her as an orphan, and raised her. It another classic case of star-crossed lovers. Both are torn between their loyalty to their people, and their love for on another.
An eerie, mystical world was successfully crafted in some benign HK studio space. "The Bride With White Hair" is full of atmosphere, full of good intent, but it doesn't deliver. I wanted to like this film. The first 15 minutes filled me with anticipation, anticipation that was never met. It just chugged along at a nice even pace, never to exciting, never too boring, just flat. The film is painted with beautiful cinematography and set design. Unfortunately, pretty pictures alone do not a good HK movie make. It's not a complete loss, but those who are used to non stop action in their action films, might walk away a little disappointed.
-AW