Oddly enough I have never gotten around to watching "Green Snake" (aka "Ching se") before 2016, despite being a huge fan of Maggie Cheung. But with hand on heart, then I can say that I hadn't been missing out on a masterpiece. Sure "Green Snake" was entertaining enough for what it was, but it just wasn't outstanding or particularly memorable.

The story is about two female snake spirits aspiring to become humans, and they are mingling with humans in order to learn how to become human. And a monk comes across the two snakes, learning about their nature and behavior, he must rectify their behavior in the eyes of Buddha.

The storyline was adequate, but I think you must be Chinese in order to fully appreciate the story and be familiar with the legend upon which director Tsui Hark based his movie. For a Westerner then "Green Snake" seemed a silly action comedy more than anything else.

What makes "Green Snake" work out on the screen is the acting talents that they had recruited for the movie. Joey Wang (playing White Snake) and Maggie Cheung (playing Green Snake) were really carrying the movie quite nicely and they were well-cast for the roles of the snakes-morphed-into-human-shape. Hsing-Kuo Wu (playing the scholar) was also adding a good amount to the movie with his performance. However, personally, then I can't claim to think that Wenzhuo Zhao (playing the monk) really had any good acting skill in this movie.

The effects in the movie were adequate for what the movie was, and taking into consideration that the movie is from 1993, then don't get your hopes up too high. The snakes were adequate, but the summoned fiery dragon was ludicrous to look at.

What did work for the movie was the transition between human and snake that the sisters had going on. There was a great sense of them actually being snakes in human bodies. And thumbs up to Tsui Hark, Maggie Cheung, Joey Wang and the special effects team on their accomplishments in order to make this believable.

If you are expecting a grand martial arts drama, then "Green Snake" will leave you sorely disappointed. This is not a martial arts movie, despite having some fighting sequences here and there. This is a fantasy drama movie based on a Chinese legend.

This 1993 movie is not really amongst the more impressive of movies to have been directed at the hand of Tsui Hark.

Tsui Hark's magical fantasy Green Snake is such a tour de force of stunning visuals and expertly crafted moments of cinema magic that one can easily forgive the occasional dodgy special effect or lapse in narrative cohesion.

Maggie Cheung plays the beautiful titular character, one of a pair of benign female snake demons who have mastered the ability to transform themselves into humans. Her companion, White Snake (Joey Wang), is far more experienced than Green at altering her appearance, and has also managed to acquire human emotions, falling in love with a young scholar Hsui Xien (who is quite unaware that his girl is actually a scaly serpent in disguise).

Desperate to experience the same feelings as White, but unable to control her desires, Green also attempts to seduce Hsui Xien (the lucky old so-and-so), and even tries to seduce a powerful monk, Faat Hoi, whose mission it is to trap demons; this naturally causes all kinds of problems which eventually result in Hsui Xien discovering White's secret.

For the majority of its running time, the lyrical beauty of Hark's tale is more than enough to retain one's attention; even when there isn't much happening story-wise, the film is shot with such style that it is totally captivating. For example, the scene in which Green gatecrashes a Bollywood dance routine while a rain-drenched White slithers off to spy on the scholar might not add much to the plot, but with its lush colours, amazing soundtrack, and Cheung's impossibly sexy performance, it's one of the most memorable cinematic sequences that I've seen.

Towards the end of the film, events do start to become slightly wearisome, and perhaps the film is a little too long for its own good; some viewers may find Hark's leisurely pace a little too slow, whilst others might laugh at the sometimes less-than-effective special effects (the CGI magic crane is certainly very weak). However, the film's positives far outweigh its negatives, and fans of Asian fantasy should definitely seek it out.

From time to time I like to dabble in a pool of older genre films. I don't find many masterpieces there, but some films are pretty entertaining. And once in a while, something really neat pops up. Green Snake is one of those films, ranking among the top films the early 90s Hong Kong period has to offer.

Green Snake is a strange blend of genres, but not at all uncommon for those type of films. If you want to compare it to anything (that is remotely known) I guess A Chinese Ghost Story comes closest.

The film's main focus are two demon snakes that have traveled to the human world to live a better life. They act as dames and try to find a husband, as they can secure their lives in the human world by getting a human child. This might sound a bit silly, but in essence it differs little from many Roman or Greek legends we know (and accept them for what they are).

Of course, no HK film from that period is complete with at least some flashes of martial arts thrown in. So a traveling monk and Buddha priest are added to make the lives of our snakes a bit harder. Both are trained in the more magical areas of the martial arts field, resulting in many magical spells and little hand to hand combat.

What sets this film apart from his peers is the visual brilliance. It won't be to everyone's liking, but the abundant use of color is simply superb. Every shot in the film looks lush, be it through it's impressive, colorful set design or through the many filters that are used. The editing gives you little time to absorb all this beauty, but every new shot is impressive enough not to care.

Also typical for these type of films is the type of editing used. Because the means and budgets were not high enough to create the effects required in a believable way, many magical scenes are often shot up close and edited in such a way that the viewer will fill in the blanks. It can become a bit confusing this way, but all in all it's a splendid solution. Some scenes still look pretty cheap, but overall the effects never take away from the film.

Another thing worth mentioning is the music. Although probably hit and miss for many, I liked the music Hark has chosen for this film. Especially the song with the Indian (?) dancers stayed long after the movie had finished. Pretty strange, not everyone will far for it but I think it worked wonders here.

Of course, there's also the quirky acting and silly humor that are ever present in these HK films. It comes with the territory and I don't mind one single bit, but it's another factor that will turn off some people from films like Green Snake. Their loss I guess.

It's pretty easy to love or hate these kind of films. But if you're a fan of this kind of cinema, Green Snake is one of the best films to pick. It's Tsui Hark at his best, the film is lush in its visuals and score, is entertaining to the core and wastes no time on unnecessary things. Very likable and extremely well-made. 4.0*/5.0*