|  | Style: Comedy/fantasy
Director: Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai-Ka Fai
Main Cast: Anita Mui Yim-fong (Emperor Qi / Ancestor Huan), Sammi Cheng Sau-man (Wu Yen), Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (Fairy Enchantress / Yinchun), Tin Sang Lung (Historian), Raymond Wong Ho-yin, Lam Suet, Bonnie Wong Man-wai, Wong Tin-lam, Hui Siu-hung, Joe Cheng Cho, Ai Wai
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| In this costume comedy (set over 2000 years ago in the Warring States era, before China was united under the Qin Emperor) is Chung Mo-Yim (or Wu Yen) a woman warrior who's fated to marry the Emperor (Anita Mui in a cross-dressing role). The two first meet when the Emperor accidentally frees the evil Fairy Enchantress, who then proceeds to get between Mo-Yim and the Emperor by offering his/her affections. Mo-Yim rejects the Enchantress, so the Enchantress puts a curse on Mo-Yim. As long as she loves the Emperor, she will have a hideous red mark across one of her eyes. She still looks pretty, but for some reason everyone in the movie runs like she's the Elephant Man. Undaunted, Mo-Yim swears to become Empress, but not without difficulties. The Emperor turns out to be a lazy, skirt-chasing ass who has no sense of women, much less politics. Disgusted at Mo-Yim's "ugliness," the Emperor instead turns to a female incarnation of the Fairy Enchantress, who inserts herself into the palace to make things even more difficult for Mo-Yim. Mo-Yim hangs around until she's actually needed, which is whenever a fight needs to be won. When the going gets tough for the Emperor, he calls on Mo-Yim to save the day, which she does though sometimes reluctantly. And so it goes for nearly two hours, as Mo-Yim attempts to win the Emperor's affections while fending off the overbearing Fairy Enchantress. Wu Yen is a cinematic example of a Cantonese genre called "moleitau," verbal nonsense comedy that relies on quality writing of rapid-fire dialogue, witty ripostes and punning, exemplifies the form even while expanding it to include ribald repartee, broad and low-brow humor, anachronistic gags and biting satire of every social convention and custom. No sacred cows go unscathed in sequences involving gender-bending, cross-dressing and role reversals. The three leads, all huge stars in Hong Kong, perform brilliantly, especially Anita Mui (in her two roles), convincingly conveying male swagger, bombast and goofy self-indulgence while avoiding tiresome caricature, communicating a broad range of expressions with her face and body alone. Mui's best scene involves a double drag in which the Emperor must take on the disguise of a concubine - an utter joy to watch while this amazing actress portrays a man playing (badly) a woman. |
Links:
- IMDb |
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