Movie Review: Painted Skin

Thank goodness for subtitles, or else this article will never come to be hehe :) I just got back from watching Painted Skin with buddies, it was a pretty good show, as good as I expected it so I was quite satisfied. The cohorts may snort because they laughed when I didn't, but oh well, here goes...

The Cast
Zhou Xun played the seductress fox spirit very well, one can get lost in her innocent yet sly smile. Vicki Zhao plays the loyal & beautiful wife superbly, you will be touched by the deep love she has for her husband. Chen Kun is simply gorgeous; I can understand why the fox spirit fell hard for him hehe, plus he played his role well as the general who is faithful to his wife yet can't deny that he thinks about the seductive fox spirit. Donnie Yen was great as Yong, his chemistry with Betty Sun was wonderful, albeit brief. Betty Sun's portrayal of the tomboyish Demon Hunter was good, it was hilarious watching her annoy the hell out of Donnie Yen's character. Overall the cast did an amazing job with the film, stellar indeed.

The Fox Spirit seduces men
Yong questioning Xiao Wei
The Plot
General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) rescues a beautiful woman Xiao Wei (Zhou Xun)from bandits, not knowing that she is a fox spirit. Xiao Wei falls in love with the handsome & noble general, & does her best to wreck havoc on his marriage with Pei Rong (Vicki Zhao). Pei Rong suspects that Xiao Wei isn't the human she claims to be, especially when men in the town are killed with their hearts ripped out since Xiao Wei joined their household. She asks an old friend Yong (Donnie Yen) to help her unveil Xiao Wei's true colors. Pang Long agrees to help; he was once General Wong's comandeer & left the group when Pei Rong chose to marry Wang Sheng instead of him. With the help of "Demon Hunter" Xia Bing (Betty Sun), they uncover that the murderer is a Chameleon Spirit (Qi Yuwu) who takes the hearts for Xiao Wei to consume in order to keep her human form. There are many twists & turns in the tale, flashbacks to explain the relationships between the characters better & some fake stunts, but these are insignificant compared to the cast's stellar performances.

Xiao Wei...or Pei Rong?
The Music
Bro Xin will try to get the song for me, it's Chinese; I do NOT know the dialect, but it's very nice. The instrumental theme song is poignant & sad, beautifully matching the tone of true love in the movie. The overall soundtrack is pretty good, fast paced at times, melancholic & haunting sometimes. 

Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Perhaps it lacked deeper examination of several characters, but overall, it was a pretty good film. Some parts spooked the hell outta me but I'm a wimp so *ahem* Love is the central theme of the story, that it's the person that you fall in love with & stick with through good & bad times. I definitely like that part.

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