WATCH NOW
Transformations within Chinese cinema have produced some of the most impressive fantasy adventures I’ve had the joy to behold. It is more than the martial arts, wire-fu, and kung fu historical dramas of the past. Even the cliche-filled Hong Kong action movies with terrible acting and voiceovers faded into the background. Nonetheless, today’s films are incredibly enjoyable.
Resurrection is basically an answer to the question “What if Brom and Robert E. Howard was actually Chinese and wanted to make a movie?” The movie is set in Ancient China where there are elements of grim quasi-necrophiliac barbarian-and-sorcerer craziness and manages to put together an even stranger mix of Eastern and Western fantasy than is normal. It mixes Eastern mythology with this very alien sword and sorcery that is embedded within Western culture but is thoroughly immersed in Eastern sensibilities. Skinned Painted: The Resurrection is, without question, an incredible experience.
The tale begins with a woman fox, a demoness frozen in a tomb of ice for an ancient wrongful deed where she tried to save a mortal man she was in love with. Xiaowei is cursed to be imprisoned within the ice by her demon counterparts for the cruelty and compassion she displayed and lies for centuries in her prison until a young bird demon named Que’er frees her out of sheer boredom(?). Xiaowei is a demon and like all demons, she requires human hearts to fuel her in the mortal realm, but as she wanders across the world with Que’er, she understands that she wants to become human so badly, an act solely possible if a mortal willingly gives him her heart smile.
At long last, Xiaowei stumbles across the martial adept Princess Jing, who happens to be evading an imminent marriage plan with the prince from the empire of Tian Lang, located just across the remote mountain fortress of the White City, where her lost love, the former palace guard turned general of the frontier, Huo Xin, commands. It turns out that the Princess had, long ago, been mauled by a bear, and Huo, as her guard, managed to rescue her which was what made him save her. Yet grand romances had to be sidelined thanks to his shame for being there during her death-like scenario which left her face permanently scared, now concealed by her golden mask.
Xiaowei arrives in White City trying to hatch a devious plot to find a mortal who would be willing to trade hearts with her, which would allow her to experience what it’s like to be a mortal, and more importantly, get away from her demon guards. At the same time, Que’er, her loyal demon bird companion, runs into a new local demon hunter called Pang Lang. As a member of a very old family of demon hunters, Pang owns the tip of an ancient fox demon’s tail sealed in a bottle, it lights up when near demons. Not only does he doubt the recently arrived beautiful lady friend of the Princess, but he is also sceptical about the Princess herself.
Like most Chinese films do, this one becomes increasingly more complex as different characters deal with love, jealousy, misunderstandings and deep guilt. While Princess Jing and General Huo share unreciprocated affection, Xiaowei and Que’er plot new schemes against them, and empire Tian Lang remains at constant threat with its terrible network of bludgeoning rocks, to the ever-present danger of a vile princess, an enigmatic noble (who I will say nothing about because Spoilers), and a very evil necromancer scheme. The empire of Tian Lang has taken its interior decoration straight out of a Conan tale, with even more grotesque and overwhelming emphasis on bones than can be seen in every recorded shot.
This realization hit me, as I focused on the arrival scene for Tian Langs’ army at the gates of the White City. Everything in this story can be described with no effort as a Hyborean tale alleviated by the defeat of Conan, set somewhere on the boundary of Khittai. I am sure that, somewhere in the eastern part of Hyborea’s Khittain, this tale was bound to happen.
The plots make sense and can be followed (which is not always the case with Chinese cinema). The melodrama works rather nicely. The villains are as bad as they could be suggesting that they are exceedingly evil. The demons are on the whole very well done and incredibly demonic. The so-called heroes of this play uh, Jing and Huo, are so caring that they are easy to love. The version on Netflix I saw appeared to be seasons 1-2. It was hoped best figured out with only one error in the subtitles.
Death Bat rates this movie a solid “Painted Skin: The Resurrection Camazotz tells defenders of fantasy sword and sorcery, sword fighting, and a good serving romance mixed with violence to watch this movie. It should, however, be combined with other movies that are useful for inspiration of new games. It is especially beneficial for those who want to know the other side of sword and sorcery without the Western lens.
To watch more movies like (Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
