Merrick lives...

Every time I see Massawyrm, I forget to ask him how the hell he came up with his psuedonym.

Last night, I spoke to him about THE PROMISE (not to be confused with THE PROPOSITION. Hey, I wonder who'd win...Ahhh, never mind), and this film sounds very interesting.

I didn't make it to this week's screening, but wish I had.

Here's Massa...

Hola all. Massawyrm here. You know, us hardcore fantasy fans are pretty much S.O.L. when it comes to the box office. There is simply not a lot of love thrown our way. Despite people’s insistence that there is a resurgence of fantasy film making, that translates to at most 2 or 3 films a year, all of which are based on 50 year old material or a modern kids book so popular they had to create an entirely separate New York Times Bestseller list to track it…because so many writers and publishers kept complaining about being “Pottered” (‘if it weren’t for those three kids books, my book would be number 10 instead of 13’ – wah fucking wah…if you wrote a book that involving that actually got kids to read, we wouldn’t have to listen to you fucking whine, crybaby.) And while we’ve been very lucky in the adaptations so far (die hard purists and Tom Bombadil fans aside) finding original fantasy requires us to look towards foreign films to get our fix. Occasionally we’ve been gifted with truly original works like Strings, Malefique or Legend of the Sacred Stone, but these films are really as few and far between as the films here in the states (such as the occasional and poorly received offerings like Mirrormask and Reign of Fire.) But there’s always Wuxia…which for all intents and purposes IS fantasy. But despite the occasional Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero or Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, even this genre either strays from the fantasy aspects or just plain sucks (whether due to budget or story.)

So - as a died in wool Dungeons & Dragons playing, miniature painting, lifelong fantasy geek – when I find something really special, I want to shout from the rooftops about it. Well, consider this my rooftop and lets just pretend I’ve got my keyboard in the upright, capslocked position – because I’ve seen “The Promise.”

While technically falling into the Wuxia category, I really hesitate to want to place it there. This is a fantasy film, a true to form fairy tale…that just happens to spontaneously break into short, sporadic bouts of “Martial arts” (I’ll address this more in depth later.) It’s not about impressive martial arts. It’s about emotion. It’s about tragedy. Based upon a classic folk tale, this has all the hallmarks of truly classic fantasy. A meddling goddess. A cursed princess. An arrogant general. A mysterious slave possessing supernatural powers. An evil warlord. A tortured assassin. Six lives intertwined in a tragic series of events in a story about honor, love and sacrifice.

When a young girl crosses paths with a mysterious goddess, she is offered the deal of a lifetime – become the most beautiful, adored woman in all the land in exchange for one small price. Any man she ever loves will leave her, one way or another, and the only love she will ever know will be fleeting. When her life is saved by a slave dressed in his master’s armor, she falls in love with the master instead of the slave and a bizarre love quadrangle arises as these two men try to protect her from the evil warlord that wants her for his own. And it only gets more convoluted from there – but in the best way possible.

The story is thoroughly engrossing, a perfect mix of angst, treachery and melodrama. With solid performances from an extremely charismatic cast, most notably by the ravishing Cecilia Cheung (King of Comedy and Legend of Zu), this delicate balance is powerful and absolutely moving. And framed by beautiful sets and surreal imagery, The Promise creates a fantastic world of vivid color and luscious cinematography. There are shots and sequences here that, while clearly CG at times, evoke the feeling and look of paintings. And while the budget does show through in a number of these, as a whole it’s an impressive, original look that really sells the film and its mythical leanings.

But for those looking for a solid kung fu movie, The Promise falls short. While there are two good fight scenes (and only one really fantastic one), most of the fighting involves the trademark dodging and leaping around that Wuxia haters so fervently complain about. Never does a single fight scene ever reach even the weakest scenes which American audiences have become accustomed through films like Hero, Crouching Tiger or House of Flying Daggers. Fortunately, these scenes never go on for very long, prove to be fairly dramatic and are never in the least bit boring. They’re not forced, and there’s never a fight just for the sake of having one, but its clear that director Kaige Chen is much more interested in weaving a fairy tale than he ever is in showing a single melee. Fantasy fans who aren’t also big fans of martial arts will find this a pleasant change of pace, but anyone with hopes of seeing anything remotely close to Yuen Wu Ping choreography will be sorely disappointed.

Of course, my love of this film may stem from seeing it through foreigners eyes. This film was entirely savaged in its home country of China, and one need not look very hard to find negative reviews of it. But as someone unfamiliar with the tale, I was entirely wrapped up in it. For my money, this is an absolutely fantastic film – with a story I simply loved and want to return to again and again. If I were to compare it to anything, it most resembles the simplistic beauty of Neil Gaimen’s “Sandman: The Dream Hunters.” Of course, several of our Chinese readers will probably savage me for this review, but so be it. I loved the thing. Highly recommended for fantasy buffs and anyone in love with Wuxia. Anyone with a distaste for either of these genres are strongly cautioned against it, as it hits all the notes of both that will probably get on your nerves.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.

Massawyrm

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