Painted Skin: The Resurrection

I wasn't expecting much from this movie. But it surprised me. The story (already well documented on this site) was not overly complex yet it did have some deeper themes about sacrifice, being enraptured by physical beauty and yet being hollow inside.

The hardest thing for me was that Princess Ying (Vicky Zhao) was supposed to be depressed about her facial scars - hidden by her golden mask. But I find her to be extremely attractive so to imagine her as some horrible ugly thing was hard to swallow. Even when she reveals her mask the scars don't look all that bad.

Actually all three main actresses were very attractive and did very well in their respective roles. The only minor complaint would be the wooden performance by the actor portraying the general. He livens up towards the end so I guess I'll give him a pass.

8/10

It would be much better if the writers don't force the story by many unsuitable details.

I watched this movie. From the opening scene, the quality of the images. I knew this was going to be different movie from the start. What excellent story telling. It was beautiful. The tears shed throughout, had me stringing along emotionally. I have never seen anything so beautiful. I was ready to give my heart willingly to almost all the characters in this movie. Well done! Beautiful cast! Beautiful people! I can't wait to see what's next. I'm afraid that I won't see something as wonderful as this film for a very long time. But I shall await patiently. I saw this on netflix. Tonight I get to share it with my family. I know they will all agree that this is a wonderful film.

Life has been good but at times it gets to be mundane, and boring. So I need to escape from reality and get lost in another world. Many films, such as 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'Kwaidan', offer me a channel to another world for a couple of hours. 'Painted Skin II' does an equally good job in this regard with its dose of fox demons (the good kind), a princess and warriors.

I watched the film on a BluRay disc. The colour, the imagery, the landscape, the costumes, the feminine sexuality - all visually stunning and often poetic. There are also two love stories in there too, and these are no conventional love stories - they are the very complicated kind. The action sequences, often done in slow-mo, are satisfying. Acting is great, especially by the two leading ladies. This film offers all I need from a fantasy story.

It appears that not many in the North America are aware of this film or have seen it. That is indeed a pity. I hope director Wuershan will move on to do Painted Skin III. Something I very much would look forward to.

This movie had me teetering on wanting to say it was excellent in the vein of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon/Hero or feeling like it wasn't quite up to par. Visually many of the scene were art in motion (a la Hero), but then they have shoddy computer animation (the bear that attacks the Princess and the bird played by Mini Yang). As for a love story it is one of those long suffering epics that sort of grabs and tears your heart. The Princess has a lifetime never ending love for the Warrior and would do anything for him, even "sell her soul to the devil". The Warrior, because of his honorable service to her denies his own love for her. When demons get involved everything is twisted and complicated. My buddy & I gave it a "thumbs up" after watching it.