alexhanlei's Full Review: Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box
A Chinese Odyssey, Part I: Pandora's box and Part II: Cinderella are actually one movie. It is inspired by the very well known novel Journey to the West, or Monkey King, written during the Qing dynasty. Journey to the West was a fairly whimsical tale in its own right, and when told through Steven Chow's perspective, it is downright confusing. However, I hold this movie to fairly high esteem, even though it has received more than its share of criticism.
Hong Kong culture is based on a practice that some would call regurgitation while others would call adaptation. It is beyond my ability to decide whether it is the former or the latter, but it is very amusing to see these things in a movie. Especially a Steven Chow movie. Steven Chow is, in some ways, similar to Jim Carrey, except that he can deadpan much better than Carrey. He writes many of his own scripts, too. Though many do not think his ideas make much sense, his sheer popularity proves that there is substance to his own brand of humor. A Chinese Odyssey is 3 hours of culture chow suey. Classic Chinese novel, old fashioned tragedy, surreal fights and time shifts, Shakespearean mistaken identities, and get this, Wong Kar Wai references, all cut up and mixed in a giant platter. Dizzying, hilarious, heartbreaking, it is one of the best Steven Chow tales.
Nothing is sacred in this movie. Everything is mercilessly mocked at. Steven Chow's Monkey King is not the heroic, daring fighter we have come to expect, instead, he is meek, indecisive, and selfish. Some of his lines sound straight out of a Woody Allen movie. Unable to commit and weighed down by fate, he is more a common (modern Hong Kong) man than a mythical fighter.
Cast is outstanding. Kar Ying Lau is the Monkey King's master, Monk Tong. Monk Tong has some of the most memorable lines in this movie, trite yet complex, you can't expect what he will say next. Mon Tat Ng is the Pig Man. Karen Mok, who I have always liked, is mostly seen in the first half, while Athena Chu takes the leading role in the second half. This is melodramatic movie at its best: jestering and sending itself up while playing serious at the same time. Many who are accustomed to Western style movies and their tight story lines, uniform underlying philosophy will be shocked by this culture mess. However, it is strangely addicting. Escapism in its prime form.
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