It
is based on a novel in the wuxia subgenre, xianxia, known for incorporating
themes of reincarnation and karma. Sort of fittingly, Tang Qi’s novel Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach
Blossoms has also gone through many lives and identities. Published as To the Sky Kingdom in America, it has
already been adapted for Chinese television as the hit series Eternal Love. More problematically,
charges of plagiarism allege the novel’s basic narrative structure was lifted
from Dafeng Guaguo’s semi-underground boy’s love novel Peach Blossom Debt, with the yaoi content replaced with straight
romance. In any event, karma will not be denied in Zhao Xiaoding & Anthony
LaMolinara’s Once Upon a Time (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
The
realm of the immortals remains tranquil after their triumph over the demon
clan, but it cost Bai Qian’s master Mo Yuan dearly. After exhausting his qi
sealing the Demon Lord in Eastern Bell Mountain, his body was frozen in
protective ice. For centuries, the immortal queen has awaited his thaw. In the
interim, she has been promised to the crown prince Ye Hua to maintain peace in
the Heavenly realm. Despite her loyalty to Mo Yuan, she finds herself
developing feelings for the prince and his young son “Rice Ball,” whom he
conceived with his late mortal wife Su Su.
It
turns out Bai Qian looks an awful lot like Su Su and Ye Hua is a dead ringer
for Mo Yuan. In fact, we eventually learn Bai Qian did indeed renounce her
immortality and memory while despondent over the absence of her lord, but she
no longer recalls their Earthly interlude. Unfortunately, that first attempt at
fairy tale romance was undermined by the machinations of the devious Su Jin,
who is still up to her old tricks.
Bai
Qian/Su Su’s story will eventually be pieced together with enough cohesion for
high fantasy wuxia. However, the idea that Ye Hua and Mo Yuan could be one and
the same never makes any sense, even though the film constantly drops teasing
hints to that effect. Frankly, it is pretty easy to see why Chinese TV took the
first crack at To the Sky Kingdom of
Peach Blossoms. At an hour and forty-nine minutes, it is clear OUAT has glossed over quite a bit. Yet,
the vibe is so weird, in a beyond New Age kind of way, you sort of have to go
with it. At least half the film feels like the scenes of Laurence Olivier and
Ursula Andress wearing togas on Mount Olympus in the original Clash of the Titans.
Crystal
Liu Yifei (of The Four trilogy) has
the right porcelain goddess look and wuxia action chops for Bai Qian, a.k.a. Su
Su, a.k.a. Si Yin (as her master used to call her). On the other hand, is poorly
cast as Ye Hua/Mo Yuan. He looks too young and immature for an eighteen-year-old
mortal, so forget about a millennia-old warrior. However, Li Chun makes quite
the ruthless but tres elegant femme fatale as the scheming Su Jin.
The
bad news is there is also a precious CGI character who acts like a reject from Monster Hunt. The good news is Su Jin
has a cool looking tiger companion. You certainly won’t get bored by OUAT, but confusion is a near certainty.
However, there is a large following for the property, who will probably be able
to fill in the gaps on their own. Eternal
Love is still a huge hit for Dragon TV and Zhejiang TV, like their Game of Thrones, but without the sex and
violence (it also streams on dramafever, so the k-drama fans are well versed in
Peach Blossoms as well). For newcomers, it is very strange, but it definitely grabs
viewers on a deep Jungian archetypal level. Recommended as something different,
Once Upon a Time opens this Friday
(8/11) in New York, at the AMC Empire.
