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 My
love of Asian movies is no surprise to anyone who’s spent five seconds
on this site. It’s an affection that has existed literally as long as I
can recall knowing what film was. Hong Kong movies hold a particular
place in my heart and one of those most responsible for the claiming is
Chow Sing-Chi, known to the non-Canto-speaking world as
writer/director/producer/star Stephen Chow. Chow pretty much created
his own comedy genre of off-hand observational riffs, combined with a
wacky sense of slapstick and fantasy, with a dose of cool pop culture
reference - both regional and global - thrown in. Basically, it’s the
essence of Hong Kong itself. Despite the definite aspects of humour
specific to the HK viewer, his films have managed to reach an
international audience. Curiously, after his 2008 children’s film,
CJ7, the only ensuing cinematic activity from Chow was behind
the scenes, primarily as a producer. Still gasping for sequels of his
two biggest smashes, Shaolin Soccer and the global megahit, Kung Fu
Hustle, fans worried whether Chow would direct and star in another
film. With Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, we get six of
one and a half-dozen of the other.
A
rustic fishing village in old China. A father playfully teases his
little girl about sea monsters when the pair fatefully encounter one.
The giant monster does away with a good percentage of the population
before a scruffy looking youth jumps into action. Though he doesn’t
look it, Xuanzhang is an itinerant demon hunter trying to rid the world
of souls transformed into horrible monsters who wreak havoc on the
unassuming citizenry. Still an apprentice at his chosen career, young
Xuanzhang tries to send those troubled spirits into the ether in the
kindest way, which is unfortunately not the most effective method. This
is a fact that he is shown repeatedly by other hunters, most recently by
a tough, scrappy female demon-seeker whose incredible martial arts and
magic skills make Xuanzhang look even more like a joke. Tired of
playing the fool, Xuanzhang sets off on his master’s advice to seek out
the Monkey King, who will show him the path to being the greatest demon
hunter in the world. All Xuanzhang has to do is find the mountain where
he’s been imprisoned for a few centuries and ask him nicely. Surely the
well-known trickster, incarcerated by Buddha himself, won’t try to
escape or anything.
Written in the 16th century, Journey to the West is one of
the great novels of China and has been adapted hundreds of times in
practically every medium; paintings, opera, stage plays, music,
science-fiction novels and even anime (It’s the prevailing
inspiration of the internationally beloved Dragonball series). It’s
been made into many films from the silent era onwards. This isn’t even
the first adaptation by Stephen Chow. He had a tremendous hit in Asia
with A Chinese Odyssey Parts 1 and 2, where he starred as the Monkey
King. This film is more like Chow’s version of a superhero origin
story; a prequel where we don’t really know who the characters will be
until the end. The introduction of Xuanzhang, the hapless, tonsorially-abundant
demon hunter, is seen in the extremes of silly we expect from Chow.
When he informs the townspeople that a fraud’s dispatching of a giant
manta is the wrong deadly fish, he finds himself chained and hanging
over the waters for his reward as the villagers frolic happily in the
newly-safe sea. His correctness reveals itself in the appearance of a
toothy CGI behemoth that looks like something out of a beautifully
painted nightmare. This sea dragon does not discriminate as to whether
it eats adults, little kids or infants, and certainly has no qualm about
devouring well-meaning demon hunters. Xuanzhang selflessly gives his
all to land the monster and then sees the credit for his good deeds
stripped away by Miss Duan, the tougher, more experienced demon
dispatcher, who is agog at Xuanzhang’s innocence and immediately drawn
to it.
Her
literal rough wooing of the soft-spoken youth, who eschews earthly
passions in the search for a higher love, forms a lot of the film’s
comedy. As the lethal leader of a band of fellow hunters, Miss Duan is
so unused to attracting a man that her attempts to make herself over in
a more feminine and alluring image for Xuanzhang end in broken bones and
nosebleeds. Far from being blinded by romance, Xuanzhang flees Miss
Duan’s attentions and hightails it into the mountains where he discovers
Sun Wukong, AKA the Monkey King, imprisoned. In his human form, he’s
crude and nothing like Xuanzhang imagined this prisoner of Buddha to be.
He’s even a sleazy lounge lizard when introduced to Miss Duan, who
follows Xuanzhang into the cave. The trio band together to capture a
demon run amok, which enables Sun Wukong to do as he’s planned for
centuries; escape his prison, return to his real monkey form and wreak
havoc on the earth in vengeance against Buddha. He begins by mowing
down some of the gathered demon hunters, including one very close to
Xuanzhang, which tests the young man to either turn away from his high
ideals, or cling to them more closely. Buddha isn’t about to hang back
and let the fuzzy little rascal have his way, so finding a counterpart
in the boy’s transcendence, Xuanzhang becomes the keeper of the mighty
chimp.
The
most remarkable thing about Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
is also notable for a different reason, and that is the absence of
Stephen Chow from the screen. Chow has chosen not to appear in the
film, which is a first for a movie he’s directed. Good thing he cast
the roles as well as he has. Wen Zhang is perfect as the gentle,
permanently befuddled Xuanzhang; his tempered delivery of Chow’s
off-hand lines highlights their wit. Earnest and unflappable in the
face of all sorts of slapstick pain and degradation, Zhang keeps the
character level-headed, kind and infuses him with a lot of sweetness.
As the ace demon hunter, Miss Duan, Shu Qi, who’s been a star in China
for years, does her best work; surrendering her glamour girl image for
broad comedy as well as performing most of the big martial arts set
pieces.
The
kung fu is another area where Chow doesn’t mess around. The
choreography by Ku Huen Chiu is both thrilling and hilarious as we see
not only Miss Duan’s skills, but the tough tiger-style hunter called
Fist of the North Star, the surreal Almighty Foot, whose freakishly
small right leg grows gigantically large in order to stomp on the
competition, and there’s the magical sword-wielding Prince Important (played
by the lovely superstar singer, Show Luo), an tuberculaic pretty boy
with a hired retinue of flower petal throwers. When we do ultimately
see the Monkey King full on, staff in hand and clothed in Chinese opera
finery, his wee stature gives no clue to his brutality in action.
Monkeys are scary little people, and this one shows no mercy to any of
his opponents. It’s hard to reckon that this whirlwind of cruelty is
meant to be the same fellow as inside the cave. As Sun Wukong, Huang Bo
balances the impishness and pent-up rage of his alter-ego with the slimy
spirit of an unctuous 1970s game show host. His double talk and
naughtiness further baffles the already-confused Xuanzhang until the
naïve youth makes the mistake of trusting him. Bo is a freight train of
laughs; his timing and way of bending a line doesn’t allow the audience
to breathe and one almost wishes he’d stayed in human form just a bit
longer.
Occasionally, the pacing does run down every now and again and there are
times Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, feels longer than its
110 minutes. There is also a noticeable gap in the spirit of the film
and that might be only in my perception, but even so, I do wish that
Chow himself had appeared. The cast is incredibly adept and extremely
funny - in Shu Qi’s case, more than I ever expected – but part of the
joy of a Stephen Chow film is in seeing the man himself, who does have a
great amount of onscreen charm, and really, who would know his work
better? Either way, the movie is very enjoyable and hopefully will
entertain both longtime fans of Chow’s work and viewers who’ve never
heard of him (?!).
Still, capable as it is, and happy as I am to
see it, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons feels a wee bit empty
for the loss of Chow’s comedic onscreen presence. Hopefully that will
be remedied with his next film, which, with any luck, won’t take another
six years to produce.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
March
7th, 2014
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