A Chinese Odyssey
Encyclopedia
A Chinese Odyssey is a pair of 1994 films, directed
by Jeffrey Lau
and starring Stephen Chow
, Karen Mok
, Ng Man Tat
, and Athena Chu
. The first movie in the duology is A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒) and the second is A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣). The films combine slapstick comedy, wuxia
and a love story, and are loosely based on the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West
.
Although filmed in Cantonese
, it has become a cult classic
among young Mandarin-speaking adults in most Chinese cities.
is punished by the Bodhisattva
Kuan-yin for attempting to betray his master, the Longevity Monk
, whom he found too annoying. The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin stops him and is about to imprison him forever; Tripitaka, however, says he is partly responsible for Monkey’s actions, and sacrifices himself in order to give Monkey a chance for redemption. Monkey is imprisoned for 500 years.
The main part of the film opens 500 years later, when Monkey has been reincarnated as Joker (Stephen Chow
), the leader of a group of bandits, who does not know he is Monkey. Soon, Joker’s band of outlaws starts being attacked by a demon who looks like a beautiful woman but whose true form is a spider; she claims to be looking for a man with 3 birthmarks on his feet. The spider woman’s sister, Pak Jingjing
(Karen Mok
), who looks like a beautiful woman but whose true form is a ghostly demon, arrives and reveals that their plan is to capture the Longevity Monk and eat him to gain immortality. Joker, however, falls in love with Jingjing, who discovers that he is the reincarnation of Monkey, but Joker doesn’t believe her; an immortal called Grandpa Buddha arrives and explain to Joker what the demons are planning.
The group is later attacked by a powerful demon named King Bull, who is also looking for the Longevity Monk; Joker and his second-in-command flee with Jingjing and the spider woman to Waterfall Cave. When Jingjing refuses to kill Joker, she and her sister begin fighting, and ultimately she and Joker flee the cave while the spider woman reluctantly becomes impregnated by Joker's second-in-command. Jingjing was poisoned by her sister and loses consciousness however, Joker soon goes back to the cave, without telling her, to seek medicine. The spider woman imprisons him there again, and in the meantime, Jingjing is captured by King Bull who removes the poison from her body. While Joker is in the cave, he finds a magical item called Pandora’s Box, which has the power to send a person back in time only during a full moon. He also has a vision in which Kuan-yin tells him he is Monkey, and he will become Monkey for real once he meets an immortal who will give him three birthmarks on his feet. King Bull has Jingjing lead him to the cave, where Jingjing kills herself because she believes Joker has abandoned her to conceive a child with her sister. Joker finds her body and then uses Pandora’s Box multiple times to go back in time and attempt to save Jingjing. After finally being able to go far enough back in time to stop her from committing suicide Joker is separated from Jing Jing and attempts to use Pandora's Box once more but ends up accidentally going back in time 500 years and encountering a beautiful immortal named Zixia (Athena Chu
), who confiscates Pandora's Box and puts three marks on his feet to mark him as her servant. He sees his reflection in the magic mirror that Grandpa Buddha had given him, and sees that although he still looks like Joker, he has actually become the Monkey King.
and Sandy
, who are earlier incarnations of some of Joker’s bandit comrades. Joker does not want to accept his fate as Monkey King, but rather just seeks a way to reclaim Pandora’s box and get back to his own time and find Jingjing. Zixia, however, quickly falls in love with him. Zixia and the Longevity Monk are eventually captured by King Bull, who wants to take Zixia as a concubine. Pigsy
and Sandy
try to rescue Longevity Monk but Longevity Monk refuses to leave as Joker is still not accepting his identity as Monkey King. Longevity Monk tries to persuade him to rejoin the group by singing a parody of "Only You (And You Alone)
" but fails. Joker then goes on to look for Zixia but finds her stabbed in the room. They then try to make a run from the King Bull.
In the battle which ensues, Joker falls off a cliff and ends up back at Waterfall Cave, where he meets an older incarnation of Grandpa Buddha (who in this lifetime is a bandit) and finds Jingjing, who at this point knows nothing of the affair that she and Joker have in the future. Jingjing agrees to marry Joker, but eventually finds out he has actually fallen in love with Zixia. Jingjing leaves, and leaves Joker a note saying that he should save Zixia from King Bull. Before he can go, however, Jingjing’s sister (the spider woman) comes to Waterfall Cave and kills everybody there, including Joker
Joker, now dead, appears before Kuan-yin and accepts that he must become the Monkey King. He then becomes the true Monkey King, gains the powers of Monkey King (and puts on his head a magical fillet, which will shrink if he feels any human desire), and returns to the world, hurrying to King Bull’s wedding ceremony to save Zixia. Since he is now the Monkey King and must relinquish all human desire, including love, he tells Zixia that he is not Joker, and he pretends to scorn her.
Monkey is clearly more powerful than King Bull and holds the upper hand in the battle, but then King Bulls decides to try to destroy the entire city by sending it to the sun using the magical fan; Monkey flies to the airborne city to keep it away from the sun. As he leaves, Zixia's hand bracelets fall out of his sash, showing Zixia that the Monkey King truly is Joker. She shows Monkey this as her proof, distracting Monkey and leaving him vulnerable. King Bull attacks from behind, but Zixia jumps in front of his weapon and sacrifices herself to save Monkey King, whom she now knows is Joker. Monkey tries to save Zixia, but is too late and as she dies he realizes that he loves her and the fillet on his head begins to shrink, causing him great pain. Furious, he kills King Bull, then escapes with his master and fellow disciples via the Pandora's Box.
Ultimately, Monkey, the Longevity Monk, Pigsy, and Sandy all escape. Monkey King wakes up in a cave which looks so familiar to him. He asks Pigsy about what happened and gets the answer that there was a storm last night and Monkey took everybody to this place for shelter. It turns out everything happened to him before was overwritten by his action earlier. The Longevity Monk and his entourage decide to keep going. On their way, the group encounters the incarnations of Joker and Zixia who have been standing on a wall for days without talking, apparently because of some argument. Monkey isn’t allowed to experience love himself, but he can’t bear to see Joker and Zixia like this, so he blows up a cloud of dust to distract the spectators, and then momentarily takes control of Joker’s body, making him kiss Zixia. Joker and Zixia make up, ready to live happily ever after. Zixia glances at Monkey King as he turns away with strange gait, wondering who he is. Monkey walks away with regret, he looks at the couple the last time before sweeping all of his last memory about her out of his mind and continues onward in the Journey to the West.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Jeffrey Lau
Jeffrey Lau
Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He was born on August 2, 1952. Liu Zhenwei is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies...
and starring Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
, Karen Mok
Karen Mok
Karen Joy Morris, known more commonly in the Sinosphere as Karen Mok or Mok Man-Wai, is a three-time Golden Melody Award-winning Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter.- Biography :...
, Ng Man Tat
Ng Man Tat
Ng Man Tat was born on 2 January 1952. He is a veteran actor in the Hong Kong film industry, with dozens of awards under his belt, including Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in A Moment of Romance.-Biography:...
, and Athena Chu
Athena Chu
Athena Chu is a Hong Kong actress and singer.-Biography:Chu attended The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 1990 to 1992, during which time she hosted children's shows on the television station TVB. After graduating in 1992, she started working on films. Her roles with Chow kick-started...
. The first movie in the duology is A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒) and the second is A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣). The films combine slapstick comedy, wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
and a love story, and are loosely based on the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
.
Although filmed in Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, it has become a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
among young Mandarin-speaking adults in most Chinese cities.
Pandora's Box
The film begins with a prologue in which the Monkey KingSun Wukong
Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...
is punished by the Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
Kuan-yin for attempting to betray his master, the Longevity Monk
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
, whom he found too annoying. The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin stops him and is about to imprison him forever; Tripitaka, however, says he is partly responsible for Monkey’s actions, and sacrifices himself in order to give Monkey a chance for redemption. Monkey is imprisoned for 500 years.
The main part of the film opens 500 years later, when Monkey has been reincarnated as Joker (Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
), the leader of a group of bandits, who does not know he is Monkey. Soon, Joker’s band of outlaws starts being attacked by a demon who looks like a beautiful woman but whose true form is a spider; she claims to be looking for a man with 3 birthmarks on his feet. The spider woman’s sister, Pak Jingjing
Bai Gu Jing
Bai Gu Jing is a yaoguai from Journey to the West.-Plot:The four travelers have entered another dangerous region. Sun Wukong leaves to scout around the area, but puts Sanzang and the other two disciples inside a magic circle...
(Karen Mok
Karen Mok
Karen Joy Morris, known more commonly in the Sinosphere as Karen Mok or Mok Man-Wai, is a three-time Golden Melody Award-winning Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter.- Biography :...
), who looks like a beautiful woman but whose true form is a ghostly demon, arrives and reveals that their plan is to capture the Longevity Monk and eat him to gain immortality. Joker, however, falls in love with Jingjing, who discovers that he is the reincarnation of Monkey, but Joker doesn’t believe her; an immortal called Grandpa Buddha arrives and explain to Joker what the demons are planning.
The group is later attacked by a powerful demon named King Bull, who is also looking for the Longevity Monk; Joker and his second-in-command flee with Jingjing and the spider woman to Waterfall Cave. When Jingjing refuses to kill Joker, she and her sister begin fighting, and ultimately she and Joker flee the cave while the spider woman reluctantly becomes impregnated by Joker's second-in-command. Jingjing was poisoned by her sister and loses consciousness however, Joker soon goes back to the cave, without telling her, to seek medicine. The spider woman imprisons him there again, and in the meantime, Jingjing is captured by King Bull who removes the poison from her body. While Joker is in the cave, he finds a magical item called Pandora’s Box, which has the power to send a person back in time only during a full moon. He also has a vision in which Kuan-yin tells him he is Monkey, and he will become Monkey for real once he meets an immortal who will give him three birthmarks on his feet. King Bull has Jingjing lead him to the cave, where Jingjing kills herself because she believes Joker has abandoned her to conceive a child with her sister. Joker finds her body and then uses Pandora’s Box multiple times to go back in time and attempt to save Jingjing. After finally being able to go far enough back in time to stop her from committing suicide Joker is separated from Jing Jing and attempts to use Pandora's Box once more but ends up accidentally going back in time 500 years and encountering a beautiful immortal named Zixia (Athena Chu
Athena Chu
Athena Chu is a Hong Kong actress and singer.-Biography:Chu attended The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 1990 to 1992, during which time she hosted children's shows on the television station TVB. After graduating in 1992, she started working on films. Her roles with Chow kick-started...
), who confiscates Pandora's Box and puts three marks on his feet to mark him as her servant. He sees his reflection in the magic mirror that Grandpa Buddha had given him, and sees that although he still looks like Joker, he has actually become the Monkey King.
Cinderella
Now back in the days of the original journey to the west, Joker eventually finds the Longevity Monk and his fellow disciples PigsyZhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is called "Pigsy" or "Pig" in many English versions of the story....
and Sandy
Sha Wujing
Shā Wùjìng is one of the three disciples of Xuánzàng in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the novels, his background is the least developed of the pilgrims and he contributes the least to their efforts...
, who are earlier incarnations of some of Joker’s bandit comrades. Joker does not want to accept his fate as Monkey King, but rather just seeks a way to reclaim Pandora’s box and get back to his own time and find Jingjing. Zixia, however, quickly falls in love with him. Zixia and the Longevity Monk are eventually captured by King Bull, who wants to take Zixia as a concubine. Pigsy
Zhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is called "Pigsy" or "Pig" in many English versions of the story....
and Sandy
Sha Wujing
Shā Wùjìng is one of the three disciples of Xuánzàng in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the novels, his background is the least developed of the pilgrims and he contributes the least to their efforts...
try to rescue Longevity Monk but Longevity Monk refuses to leave as Joker is still not accepting his identity as Monkey King. Longevity Monk tries to persuade him to rejoin the group by singing a parody of "Only You (And You Alone)
Only You (And You Alone)
"Only You " is a pop song composed by Buck Ram. It was recorded most successfully by The Platters, with lead vocals by Tony Williams, in 1955....
" but fails. Joker then goes on to look for Zixia but finds her stabbed in the room. They then try to make a run from the King Bull.
In the battle which ensues, Joker falls off a cliff and ends up back at Waterfall Cave, where he meets an older incarnation of Grandpa Buddha (who in this lifetime is a bandit) and finds Jingjing, who at this point knows nothing of the affair that she and Joker have in the future. Jingjing agrees to marry Joker, but eventually finds out he has actually fallen in love with Zixia. Jingjing leaves, and leaves Joker a note saying that he should save Zixia from King Bull. Before he can go, however, Jingjing’s sister (the spider woman) comes to Waterfall Cave and kills everybody there, including Joker
Joker, now dead, appears before Kuan-yin and accepts that he must become the Monkey King. He then becomes the true Monkey King, gains the powers of Monkey King (and puts on his head a magical fillet, which will shrink if he feels any human desire), and returns to the world, hurrying to King Bull’s wedding ceremony to save Zixia. Since he is now the Monkey King and must relinquish all human desire, including love, he tells Zixia that he is not Joker, and he pretends to scorn her.
Monkey is clearly more powerful than King Bull and holds the upper hand in the battle, but then King Bulls decides to try to destroy the entire city by sending it to the sun using the magical fan; Monkey flies to the airborne city to keep it away from the sun. As he leaves, Zixia's hand bracelets fall out of his sash, showing Zixia that the Monkey King truly is Joker. She shows Monkey this as her proof, distracting Monkey and leaving him vulnerable. King Bull attacks from behind, but Zixia jumps in front of his weapon and sacrifices herself to save Monkey King, whom she now knows is Joker. Monkey tries to save Zixia, but is too late and as she dies he realizes that he loves her and the fillet on his head begins to shrink, causing him great pain. Furious, he kills King Bull, then escapes with his master and fellow disciples via the Pandora's Box.
Ultimately, Monkey, the Longevity Monk, Pigsy, and Sandy all escape. Monkey King wakes up in a cave which looks so familiar to him. He asks Pigsy about what happened and gets the answer that there was a storm last night and Monkey took everybody to this place for shelter. It turns out everything happened to him before was overwritten by his action earlier. The Longevity Monk and his entourage decide to keep going. On their way, the group encounters the incarnations of Joker and Zixia who have been standing on a wall for days without talking, apparently because of some argument. Monkey isn’t allowed to experience love himself, but he can’t bear to see Joker and Zixia like this, so he blows up a cloud of dust to distract the spectators, and then momentarily takes control of Joker’s body, making him kiss Zixia. Joker and Zixia make up, ready to live happily ever after. Zixia glances at Monkey King as he turns away with strange gait, wondering who he is. Monkey walks away with regret, he looks at the couple the last time before sweeping all of his last memory about her out of his mind and continues onward in the Journey to the West.
Awards
- 15th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards15th Hong Kong Film AwardsCeremony for the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards was held in 1996.-Best Film:-Best Director:-Best Screenplay:-Best Actor:-Best Actress:-Best Supporting Actor:-Best Supporting Actress:-Best New Performer:-Best Cinematography:...
:- Nomination – Best Screenplay (Kei On)
- 2nd Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsHong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsThe Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong, China since 1995. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the members of the society...
:- Best Actor (Stephen Chow Sing-Chi)
- Best Screenplay (Kei On aka Jeffrey LauJeffrey LauJeffrey Lau Chun-Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He was born on August 2, 1952. Liu Zhenwei is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies...
) - Recommended Film
- Ranked #19 of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures during the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards24th Hong Kong Film AwardsCeremony for the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 27 March 2005 in the Hong Kong Coliseum and hosted by Carol Cheng and Lawrence Cheng. Twenty-nine winners in nineteen categories were unveiled, with films Kung Fu Hustle and 2046 being the year's biggest winners...
Cast
- Stephen ChowStephen ChowStephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
– The Monkey King (Sun WukongSun WukongSun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...
)/Joker - Athena ChuAthena ChuAthena Chu is a Hong Kong actress and singer.-Biography:Chu attended The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 1990 to 1992, during which time she hosted children's shows on the television station TVB. After graduating in 1992, she started working on films. Her roles with Chow kick-started...
– Lin Zixia - Ng Man-tat – Pigsy (Zhu BajieZhu BajieZhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is called "Pigsy" or "Pig" in many English versions of the story....
)/Assistant Master - Law Kar-yingLaw Kar-YingLaw Kar-ying is a Hong Kong-based actor. He was originally a Cantonese Opera artiste. In 1990 he turned to acting in movies. He became popular after being cast in From Beijing with Love, which also starred Stephen Chow, as Da Vinci, an inventor whose list of gadgets include a solar-powered...
– Longevity Monk (Tang SanzangXuanzang (fictional character)The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
) - Ada ChoiAda ChoiAda Choi Siu-fun is a Hong Kong actress best known for her work for TVB television, and to a lesser extent, for her film work. She was the second runner-up in the 1991 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant....
– Princess Qishan (Princess Iron FanPrincess Iron FanPrincess Iron Fan is a fictional character from the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. She is the wife of the Bull King and mother of Red Boy. She is a beautiful goddess living in an underground cave awaiting her husband's return, but also angry at him for his affair with a foxy vixen...
) - Yammie LamYammie LamYammie Lam Kit Ying is a former Hong Kong TVB actress, most notable for her excellent performance in The Greed of Man and Looking Back In Anger.-Career:...
– Spider Woman (Spider Demon) - Karen MokKaren MokKaren Joy Morris, known more commonly in the Sinosphere as Karen Mok or Mok Man-Wai, is a three-time Golden Melody Award-winning Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter.- Biography :...
– Pak Gwut-Jing (White Bone DemonBai Gu JingBai Gu Jing is a yaoguai from Journey to the West.-Plot:The four travelers have entered another dangerous region. Sun Wukong leaves to scout around the area, but puts Sanzang and the other two disciples inside a magic circle...
) - Jeffrey LauJeffrey LauJeffrey Lau Chun-Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He was born on August 2, 1952. Liu Zhenwei is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies...
– The Grapes/Grandpa Buddha (SubhutiSubhutiSubhūti was one of the Ten Great Śrāvakas of Śākyamuni Buddha, and foremost in the understanding of emptiness. In Sanskrit, his name literally means "Good Existence" . He is also sometimes referred to as or "Elder Subhūti"...
) - Johnny Kong
- Lu Shuming
- Lee Kin-yan