Green Snake: The Fate of Reunion (2022)

Green Snake: The Fate of Reunion (2022) Chinese Title: 青蛇：前缘 Translation: Green Snake: Anterior Edge

Starring: Gillian Chung, Henry Mak, Lin Yo-Wei, Sun Meinan, Michelle Jiang, Xiao Yuanxi, Zhou Luoyi, Yu Qinghui

Director: Luo Jie

Action Director: n/a

I came into Green Snake: Fate of Reunion expecting something of a sequel to White Snake (2021), although I don’t think they were from the same studio. It would have been interesting if this were an adaptation of the Chinese Opera sequel to the legend, in which Qing the Green Snake hones her magical powers in order to defeat Fahai and save her older sister from the Liufeng Pagoda. So, it is isn’t a sequel. Nor is it a remake of the Tsui Hark fantasy classic (well, borderline classic—those rubber snakes at the end…). It is a slightly different creature all around.

The first character we meet is Qing’er (Gillian Chung, best known for singing alongside Charlene Choi in the C-pop duo The Twins), a powerful Snake spirit who has cultivated her qi long enough to assume human form. She lives on the enchanted Jiling Mountain, which is inhabited by lots of friendly spirit animals and ruled by Lord Zi Yue (Henry Mak, of Operation Red Sea and Raging Fire). Qing’er has been anxiously waiting for the reincarnation of her lover, Dao Qing. 

As the story goes, Qing’er was poised to for sagehood (or Godhood) in the realm of the Gods—much like Lady Bai in White Snake. To help her pass the tests, Dao Qing—a tree fairy—gave her the fruits of a divine tree. The Gods punished him by making him mortal and inserting him into the death-rebirth cycle, usually with the caveat that he will die a horrible death at a young age. Qing’er has been waiting for his reincarnation, which she can do for hundreds of years now that she’s effectively immortal (thanks to the fruit). There is also some talk about her being hit with some sort of ice curse, which will freeze and destroy her soul if she leaves Jiling Mountain.

While all this is going on, some sexy scorpion demons are causing havoc at a brothel in the local human town. A group of Taoist ghostbusters led by Cui Lan (Lin Yo-Wei) destroy one scorpion demon. He then points out that his sick master (Yu Qinghui?) now only needs the blood of a snake demon to cure his illness. So Cui Lan leads his men to Jinling Mountain to go snake hunting. Following him is the lead Scorpion Spirit who also wants Qing’er’s heart so she can be immortal and stop feeding on human souls. There is a big magical battle and Cui Lan almost drowns in a lake.

He is rescued by Qing’er, who is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Dao Qing. Initially, he is against her because she is a spirit and all spirits are evil (or so he was taught by his master). It takes him a while to warm up to Qing’er, but he is eventually convinced by her warmth and kindness, which flies in the face of his master’s teachings. And when gets kidnapped by the Scorpion Demon, Qing’er will leave Jinling Mountain to rescue him, even though that may trigger the ice curse and kill her…

There is a lot going on in this, plus a handful of twists and plot complications. It comes to a head with a final magical battle on Jinying Mountain, which actually features a giant monster duel. Three of the Five Venoms—the animals, not the actors—show up in this: the snake, the scorpion, and the toad (at the climax). The big reveal—and SPOILER ALERT!—is that the film is a prequel to the White Snake legend, much like White Snake. But this one is a bit more creative this time around: It is set about six hundred years before the events of the White Snake legend, which is Qing’s age in the legend. At the climax, Qing finds herself having to give up her thousand years of cultivation in order to save the man she loves, causing her to start over again as a green snake. I thought that was a cleverer twist than the one in White Snake, since it gives the film a lot more room to move around with (usually a problem with prequels). END OF SPOILER!

I’m guessing this was a much higher-budgeted affair than White Snake. It has a real cast, including Gillian Chung in the lead role. It is fitting that she plays Green Snake here, as her “twin” Charlene Choi had played the same role in Sorcerer and the White Snake. The effects are a lot better than both those two films, especially the CGI snake. The FX are a bit wonky during the Dr. Strange-esque magic battle in the forest, where it feels like physical concept of space is warped: the landscape folds into itself, everything becomes topsy-turvy, etc. And the film ends on a giant monster battle! The rest of the action is pretty nondescript. It mainly consists of wires, posturing, and magical attacks. It very much feels like a Dr. Strange movie in that respect.

I have seen so many of these films that I feel like I’m running out of things to say. The commentary about the hypocrisy of the religious class isn’t as strong as it is in the earlier adaptation, but that wasn’t really the point. I suppose you can make an argument that this is a sort of criticism of the concept of the Heavenly Realm as defined in Chinese mythology, who will doom a person (or a spirit) to an unending life-cycle of unhappy endings for a single sin committed in an earlier life. That is supremely unfair. 

I suppose one could argue that the message is that Spirit Class of living beings is no different from people: you have your good ones and bad ones, and they all should be treated on an individual basis. The other adaptations hint at that, but end up dwelling on love story aspect of the question: Can two beings from different realms be allowed to love each other, even if it may impact their respective destinies? In this film, Qing’er loves the current incarnation of her former lover, but is more concerned about breaking his death-rebirth cycle than she is physically consummating her love for him. Maybe now that Gillian Chung is now in her (early) 40s, they filmmakers opted for a more benevolent love than something outright sexy, like in Tsui Hark’s Green Snake. On one hand, it goes to show how much she has matured as an actress. On the other, it might just be the filmmakers being really shallow.