The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom

Price: 639 Baht

The classic wuxia novel Baifa Monü Zhuan receives another in a long line of screen adaptations with The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom – though if you hail from the West, you’re probably most familiar with the 1993 version The Bride with White Hair. Directed by Ronny Yu, that 21 year-old film starred Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung as lovers torn apart by the treacherous machinations inherent in the jiang hu. Yu’s version reduced the convoluted plotting and pushed the tragic romance for a passionate but unfaithful adaptation. While still a departure, The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom restores the intrigue and historical setting of Liang Yusheng’s original novel, but can’t combine those elements with its exceptional stars – Fan Bingbing and Huang Xiaoming – to deliver something special. While passably diverting, the film may only entertain undemanding audiences, and certainly not anyone who turns up because Tsui Hark is credited as the film’s “Artistic Consultant” (really, he is). Fan Bing-Bing’s wig does not disappoint, however.