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Painted Skin (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Painted Skin is a 2008 supernatural fantasy film directed by Gordon Chan
, starring Donnie Yen
, Chen Kun, Zhou Xun
, Zhao Wei
, Betty Sun
and Qi Yuwu
.
Although the film is based partly on a supernatural premise, it is more of an action-romance than a horror film. Painted Skin is based, very loosely, on one of Pu Songling
's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
.
The theme song of the film, Huà Xīn (畫心; Painted Heart), was performed by Jane Zhang.
. Xiaowei is a fox spirit who feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng rescues her from a band of Xiongnu
and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general, who is married to Peirong.
Another older love triangle
is present, between Pang Yong, Wang Sheng and Peirong. Pang Yong is a former general who was in love with Peirong, but eventually lost her to Wang Sheng. Peirong asks Pang Yong for help as she suspects Xiaowei for what she really is. Pang is aided by an inexperienced "demon hunter", a young female fighter called Xia Bing. Hints of a developing relationship between Xia and Pang are there, although this is never fully explored. Another subplot revolves around Xiaowei's demon ally, who is actually morphed from a chameleon
, and who also has unreciprocated feelings for Xiaowei and helps her obtain all the human hearts she needs to maintain her human "skin", whom many a times almost got caught by Wang's soldiers, thus enraging Xiao Wei into chasing him off despite his pleas and advise that a love between demon and human is impossible and to let him stay by her side.
One night, Pei Rong found out about Xiao Wei's true form when she undresses and peeled off her human skin right in front of her very eyes. Horrified at her findings, she tried again and again to tell Wang of Xiao Wei's true nature, but he brushes them off as her being tired and fatigue and told her to rest more. Pei Rong went back to Xiao Wei's residence and confronted her. Xiao Wei told Pei Rong that she wanted to be Madam Wang, and told her to back down. Pei Rong made Xiao Wei swear that she won't feast on another human's heart in order to be youthful and love Wang Sheng faithfully until they're aged. Xiao Wei agreed and forced Pei Rong to drink a potion which would make her the 'demon' while she becomes Madam Wang. After drinking the potion, Pei Rong's hair and skin turned white like Xiao Wei's true form and in order to keep her promise, she ran away from Wang residence while everyone framed her for being the demon. Pang Yong came and rescued Pei Rong just as she is about to die and together with Xia Bing, they ran off to a nearby mountain's cave and hide there.
Xia Bing recounted her grandfather's experience that the color white is the most poisonous form of demon's poison, and the whiter Pei Rong is, the closer she is to death. Wang Sheng arrived with his soldiers and Xiao Wei with her maidservants, whom all wanted to kill Pei Rong. Wang Sheng shouted to his soldiers that he will kill her himself if she really is the demon. Tearfully, Wang Sheng asked Pei Rong if she really killed humans and if she really is the demon, all of which she answered yes tearfully. Wang Sheng announces that even if she is a demon, she is his Pei Rong, and she is still his wife. Smiling, Pei Rong impaled herself with a dagger Wang Sheng is holding and died in his embrace. Xiao wei tried to gain Wang Sheng's affection by getting closer to him, but he only cried sadly while holding on to Pei Rong's body. At that moment, Xiao Wei realized that no matter what she did, Wang Sheng will never love her.
Heartbroken, Pang Yong shouted to the entire soldiers troupe that Xiao Wei is the real demon, not Pei Rong, and he proved it by trying to slash Xiao Wei but couldn't since Xiao Wei's body is as hard as steel. Pang Yong almost got defeated when Wang Sheng came towards Xiao Wei. He knelt down in front of her and tearfully begged her to bring Pei Rong back to life. Xiao Wei, heartbroken, asked Wang Sheng what would she get if she bring her back to life, and Wang Sheng told her that he loves Xiao Wei, but he already have Pei Rong, and killed himself. Xiao Wei screamed her heart out and her skin whitened to her demon form but her hair still remained black. Xiao Wei willingly gave Wang Sheng her life power in the form of a small sphere, but before she could bring Wang Sheng back to life, her demon ally, the chameleon came and snatched it from her, reprimanding her for her willingness to sacrifice her power which she had cultivated from thousand of years. He swallowed it and told her that he is going to take her back home.
Pang Yong and Xia Bing fought the chameleon, and at last, Xia Bing drew out a demon slaying sword and killed the chameleon, but not before the chameleon killed Pang Yong. Xiao Wei tearfully gathered two of the glowing life spheres, one of hers while the other of the chameleon's. She crushed it and dies as Pei Rong and Wang Sheng came back to life. Everyone in the cave who had died were brought back to life as well, including Pang Yong.
In the ending credit, Xiao Wei is reincarnated in her white desert fox form while beside her is the chameleon.
10th Changchun Film Festival
27th Golden Rooster Awards
28th Hong Kong Film Awards
30th Hundred Flowers Awards
16th Spring Swallow Awards
Gordon Chan
Gordon Chan Kar-Seung , born in 1960, is an a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include Beast Cops, Fist of Legend, Painted Skin, 2000 AD and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen...
, starring Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist...
, Chen Kun, Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
, Zhao Wei
Zhao Wei
Zhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
, Betty Sun
Betty Sun
Betty Sun Li is a Chinese actress.She first entered show business by participating in 2001's Star Search, held by Singapore's Mediacorp...
and Qi Yuwu
Qi Yuwu
Qi Yuwu is a China-born Singapore film and television actor. Qi is a permanent resident of Singapore and a contracted artiste under Singapore's MediaCorp Studios.-Biography:...
.
Although the film is based partly on a supernatural premise, it is more of an action-romance than a horror film. Painted Skin is based, very loosely, on one of Pu Songling
Pu Songling
Pu Songling was a Qing Dynasty Chinese writer, best known as the author of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.-Biography:Pu was born into a poor landlord-merchant family from Zichuan...
's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio or Liaozhai Zhiyi is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales written by Pu Songling in Classical Chinese during the early Qing Dynasty.Pu borrows from a folk tradition of oral storytelling to put to paper a series of captivating,...
.
The theme song of the film, Huà Xīn (畫心; Painted Heart), was performed by Jane Zhang.
Plot
The film is set in the Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
. Xiaowei is a fox spirit who feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng rescues her from a band of Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general, who is married to Peirong.
Another older love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
is present, between Pang Yong, Wang Sheng and Peirong. Pang Yong is a former general who was in love with Peirong, but eventually lost her to Wang Sheng. Peirong asks Pang Yong for help as she suspects Xiaowei for what she really is. Pang is aided by an inexperienced "demon hunter", a young female fighter called Xia Bing. Hints of a developing relationship between Xia and Pang are there, although this is never fully explored. Another subplot revolves around Xiaowei's demon ally, who is actually morphed from a chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
, and who also has unreciprocated feelings for Xiaowei and helps her obtain all the human hearts she needs to maintain her human "skin", whom many a times almost got caught by Wang's soldiers, thus enraging Xiao Wei into chasing him off despite his pleas and advise that a love between demon and human is impossible and to let him stay by her side.
One night, Pei Rong found out about Xiao Wei's true form when she undresses and peeled off her human skin right in front of her very eyes. Horrified at her findings, she tried again and again to tell Wang of Xiao Wei's true nature, but he brushes them off as her being tired and fatigue and told her to rest more. Pei Rong went back to Xiao Wei's residence and confronted her. Xiao Wei told Pei Rong that she wanted to be Madam Wang, and told her to back down. Pei Rong made Xiao Wei swear that she won't feast on another human's heart in order to be youthful and love Wang Sheng faithfully until they're aged. Xiao Wei agreed and forced Pei Rong to drink a potion which would make her the 'demon' while she becomes Madam Wang. After drinking the potion, Pei Rong's hair and skin turned white like Xiao Wei's true form and in order to keep her promise, she ran away from Wang residence while everyone framed her for being the demon. Pang Yong came and rescued Pei Rong just as she is about to die and together with Xia Bing, they ran off to a nearby mountain's cave and hide there.
Xia Bing recounted her grandfather's experience that the color white is the most poisonous form of demon's poison, and the whiter Pei Rong is, the closer she is to death. Wang Sheng arrived with his soldiers and Xiao Wei with her maidservants, whom all wanted to kill Pei Rong. Wang Sheng shouted to his soldiers that he will kill her himself if she really is the demon. Tearfully, Wang Sheng asked Pei Rong if she really killed humans and if she really is the demon, all of which she answered yes tearfully. Wang Sheng announces that even if she is a demon, she is his Pei Rong, and she is still his wife. Smiling, Pei Rong impaled herself with a dagger Wang Sheng is holding and died in his embrace. Xiao wei tried to gain Wang Sheng's affection by getting closer to him, but he only cried sadly while holding on to Pei Rong's body. At that moment, Xiao Wei realized that no matter what she did, Wang Sheng will never love her.
Heartbroken, Pang Yong shouted to the entire soldiers troupe that Xiao Wei is the real demon, not Pei Rong, and he proved it by trying to slash Xiao Wei but couldn't since Xiao Wei's body is as hard as steel. Pang Yong almost got defeated when Wang Sheng came towards Xiao Wei. He knelt down in front of her and tearfully begged her to bring Pei Rong back to life. Xiao Wei, heartbroken, asked Wang Sheng what would she get if she bring her back to life, and Wang Sheng told her that he loves Xiao Wei, but he already have Pei Rong, and killed himself. Xiao Wei screamed her heart out and her skin whitened to her demon form but her hair still remained black. Xiao Wei willingly gave Wang Sheng her life power in the form of a small sphere, but before she could bring Wang Sheng back to life, her demon ally, the chameleon came and snatched it from her, reprimanding her for her willingness to sacrifice her power which she had cultivated from thousand of years. He swallowed it and told her that he is going to take her back home.
Pang Yong and Xia Bing fought the chameleon, and at last, Xia Bing drew out a demon slaying sword and killed the chameleon, but not before the chameleon killed Pang Yong. Xiao Wei tearfully gathered two of the glowing life spheres, one of hers while the other of the chameleon's. She crushed it and dies as Pei Rong and Wang Sheng came back to life. Everyone in the cave who had died were brought back to life as well, including Pang Yong.
In the ending credit, Xiao Wei is reincarnated in her white desert fox form while beside her is the chameleon.
Cast
- Donnie YenDonnie YenDonnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist...
as Pang Yong (龐勇) - Zhou XunZhou XunZhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
as Xiaowei (小唯) - Chen Kun as Wang Sheng (王生)
- Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
as Peirong (佩蓉) - Betty SunBetty SunBetty Sun Li is a Chinese actress.She first entered show business by participating in 2001's Star Search, held by Singapore's Mediacorp...
as Xia Bing (夏冰) - Qi YuwuQi YuwuQi Yuwu is a China-born Singapore film and television actor. Qi is a permanent resident of Singapore and a contracted artiste under Singapore's MediaCorp Studios.-Biography:...
as Xiaoyi (小易)
Awards and nominations
3rd Asian Film AwardsAsian Film Awards
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...
- Nominated: Best Actress(Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
) - Nominated: Best Production Design
10th Changchun Film Festival
Changchun Film Festival
The Changchun Film Festival is a biennial international film festival held in the Chinese city of Changchun. Ostensibly international, its award for best film, the Golden Deer has nevertheless primarily been awarded to Chinese and other East Asia-region films...
- Won: Best Film Score (Fujiwara Ikuro)
27th Golden Rooster Awards
Golden Rooster Awards
China Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...
- Nominated: Best Director(Gordon ChanGordon ChanGordon Chan Kar-Seung , born in 1960, is an a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include Beast Cops, Fist of Legend, Painted Skin, 2000 AD and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen...
) - Nominated: Best Actress(Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
) - Nominated: Best Supporting Actress(Sun LiSun LiSun Li is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 39th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 3rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Yuchi".-Background:...
)
28th Hong Kong Film Awards
28th Hong Kong Film Awards
Ceremony for the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 19 April 2009 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Eric Tsang, Teresa Mo, Sandra Ng, Vincent Kok, Kay Tse, Denise Ho, Lam Chi Chung, Chin Kar-lok, Louis Fan, Tin Kai Man, Michelle Lo and Wong Cho Lam.-Best Film:-Best Director:-Best...
- Won: Best Cinematography (Arthur WongArthur WongArthur Wong Ngok-Tai is a nine time Hong Kong Film Awards-winning cinematographer, actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director.-Career:...
) - Won: Best Original Film Song (Fujiwara Ikuro, Keith Chan, Jane Zhang)
- Nominated: Best Film
- Nominated: Best Screenplay (Gordon ChanGordon ChanGordon Chan Kar-Seung , born in 1960, is an a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include Beast Cops, Fist of Legend, Painted Skin, 2000 AD and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen...
, Lau Ho-Leung & Kwong Man-Wai) - Nominated: Best Actress (Zhou XunZhou XunZhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
) - Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Sun LiSun LiSun Li is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 39th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 3rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Yuchi".-Background:...
) - Nominated: Best Art Direction (Bill Lui & Liu Jingping)
- Nominated: Best Costume Makeup Design (Ng Po-Ling)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Stephen Tung)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Fujiwara Ikuro)
- Nominated: Best Sound Editing (Kinson Tsang & Lai Chi-Hung)
- Nominated: Best Visual Effects (Ng Yuen-Fai, Chas Chau & Tam Kai-Kwan)
30th Hundred Flowers Awards
Hundred Flowers Awards
The People's Hundred Flowers Film Festival or Hundred Flowers Awards, equivalent the China's Golden Globes, are considered, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards in China...
- Won: Best Actor(Chen Kun)
- Nominated: Best Actress(Zhou XunZhou XunZhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
) - Nominated: Best Supporting Actress(Sun LiSun LiSun Li is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 39th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 3rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Yuchi".-Background:...
)
16th Spring Swallow Awards
- Won: Best Actress in a Motion Picture(Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
)
Sequel
In 2011, Gordon Chan announced Painted Skin 2. Chen Kun, Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Sun Li seemed to have all returned. Though there's still no news on Donnie Yen about this matter. Other actors such as Yang Mi, Feng Shao Feng, and Gordan Liu have joined in on the cast. Gordan Liu is going to play Chen Kun's characters father while Yang Mi and Feng Shao Feng will be playing lovers. Gordan Liu chose Yang Mi and Feng Shao Feng for the roles due to their recent popularity with the television series, Palace.External links
- Painted Skin Homepage at Sina.comSina.comSINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...