THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, starring Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Elaine Lui Siu-ling, Ng Chun-yu and Ko Hung. Directed by Ronny Yu Yan-tai. Category III. Coming to Mandarin circuit.
YET another period film shoots off this summer's production line drawing on classic swordplay literature for inspiration.
This is the third adaptation of Leung Yu-san's popular novel, after a Cantonese version in the '60s with opera singer Law Ying-hing in the title role and leftist film company Great Wall's Mandarin version with Pau Hey-ching. Pau is the older sister of Peter Pau, the cinematographer of this '90s version.
While the previous adaptations were faithful to the source novel, concentrating on love and comradeship, director Ronny Yu has taken liberties with the material and focused more heavily on the relationship between the Bride, Moon Lin (Brigitte Lin), a member of a devilish cult and a young swordsman, Chak Yiat-fan (Leslie Cheung), from the rival Wu Dong clan. It is a kind of swordplay West Side Story.
The film begins with a grey-haired Chak guarding a rare flower which can impart eternal life. He has been waiting for more than a decade for his true love, a powerful witch raised by an evil high priest, to return and rejuvenate herself by eating the flower.
The film then flashes back to their childhood and a fateful encounter, culminating in a massacre. The high priest uses the Bride as a killing machine to avenge his/her being exiled by the Wu Dong clan. Her hair having turned white, she annihilates Chak'speople.
It all ends with characters and plot up in the air. But although there is no formal announcement about a follow-up, Yu has intimated a sequel is in the pipeline, with both stars committed.