With introduction and post-screening discussion with author Amanda Lee Koe
Adapted from the classic Chinese folktale, The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传), Tsui Hark’s masterful retelling focuses on the mischievous ancient creatures, Green Snake aka Xiao Qing (Maggie Cheung) and White Snake aka Bai Sou-Ching (Joey Wong), who transform themselves into two charming young women. Persecuted by Taoist monks who zealously hunt down what they believe to be evil forces, the two snake spirits discover the complexity of humanity, desire and anger, laughter and tears when they become romantically entangled with mortal men.
Made at the height of the Hong Kong New Wave by one of its key proponents, the idiosyncratically psychedelic and lushly sensual film speaks to a fluidity of identity and desires of a half-woman half-serpent, played by Maggie Cheung. A celebration of performance and illusion, this romantic fantasy-allegory ruminates on post-1997 Hong Kong, pushing the themes running through Tsui Hark’s filmography to their limits: the eternal and inextricable links between history, the archaic and modern, religion and politics.
VENUE: Oldham Theatre
ADDRESS: 1 Canning Rise, Singapore 179868
TICKETS: Here