Painted Skin: 2008: +-: Action/ Romance: I heard a lot of great things about this movie from other movie buffs, and I was really surprised just how good this movie was. As of late, I have been somewhat ambivalent toward the movies I've been watching and didn't even want to review any. I forgot that sometimes you need to step away from the crowd to find the movies worth watching. Once I started to watch it, I dove right into it.
Don't worry, the water's just right!
Since this is a foreign film with subtitles, its authenticity is heightened and I found myself hardly noticing the captions as I almost knew what was going on. This happens rarely and demonstrates excellent cohesion between the on screen action and the plot development. It's hard to explain but once you watch it you will definitely get the idea. It wouldn't have been nearly as polished if there were English overdubbing.
You think you know what's going on without reading the subtitles?
Gordon Chan has a huge following and now I know why. Painted Skin had just the right amount of plot twists, action, romance, and symbolism to get you hooked right away. The action is pronounced because it happens almost by accident in the movie and never seems forced. The final fight was superb and definitely worth watching the movie.
The action in the movie was never forced.
There is a lot of water symbolism in the movie as well as symbolism between mercurial life and the after life. Without giving away too much of the movie, the main interplay is between demons and humans who both envy each other. During a solar eclipse, one can become the other.
Water played a huge symbol in the movie as rebirth.
The special effects were outstanding and I was actually so impressed by a few of the scenes that I had to rewind the movie a few times. Overall, I watched the movie about 3 times. The demons were done with such striking beauty that it was almost uncanny.
This scene with the mother demon was incredible.
After awhile, I caught myself just watching the movie and not trying to analyze it or think too much about it. It was a fantasy world that drew you in and played with your head, much like the characters in the movie get enraptured in their own events.
This movie definitely puts you in another world.
Comparing this to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon would prove pointless because this is more of a philosophical piece rather than martial arts with some romance included. If I had to compare them though, I would say this movie is better, but in a different way. It just had more balance and seemed more on an epic scale.
This is not Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!
At the end of the movie, you are completely satisfied and there isn't that empty feeling that is sometimes felt when a movie isn't completely finished. Every detail was obsessed over in this movie and it shows. My favorite scenes are when the main female role fights the mother demon and the final fight scene which was very well done. Again, I just watched this movie and didn't really feel like critiquing it.
Just watch the movie and save the critiques for another time!
Definitely catch this movie if you can, it's a hard one to get a hold of and was on Netflix for only a few days. 90%
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