Life is full of choices and decisions that each individual could use their own right to choose the way they want to live. The right to love and decide your future lie in your own hands that even Buddha or his “preresentatives” cannot interfere in. No fucking one could do that.
Thank you VNPT for no Internet at the weekend, it’s really “awesome” and be a good reason to watch The Sorcerer and the white snake ( 2011 ) again after a long time.
First time watching this movie, I’ve been in Malaysia. Watched this film with some buddies in JomSocial team ( Harry / Dimas / Johny ) and I still remembered they just burst out laughing when seeing me cry, especially crying because of an “bullshit” film -_- Of course they don’t understand as it’s just my feeling, just something called sadness and tragedy in that love story.
Of course, I watched this film in English (narrated and subtitled in English in stead of Malay language), what a civilized nation! Wonder why we don’t follow such a great thing like this in VN?
And of course for that reason, I just can get 60 – 70% the meaning of movie. But that doesn’t matter actually, I had been watching this film several times in Vietnamese sub title though.
OK now let’s get into it. The article is using some “fun” words but it doesn’t mean that I’m not serious. In contrary, I would like to express my own view towards religion in general and Buddhism in particular.
The movie is “artifical”, yes, but the stories is passed from generation to generation which means it is the reflection of a perennial thought 😉
Movie Plot
The film starts with Abbott Fahai and his assistant Neng Ren heading towards a blizzard through a magical door. An ice harpy appears at the top of the mountains and turns the impetuous Neng Ren into an ice statue. She then reveals her past and reasons to kill all men. Unable to persuade the ice harpy to turn over a new leaf, Fahai is forced to fight her. The battle ends with Fahai capturing the ice harpy using a demon trapper, which releases Neng Ren from ice. Neng Ren is then tasked to confine the ice harpy at Lei Feng Pagoda, and the master and assistant head back to the door which disappears after closing behind them. At the Pagoda, Neng Ren transfers the ice harpy from the demon trapper into the magic circle, which holds other trapped demons in it.
On the other side of the mountain, two female snake demons (Qingqing and Susu) are playing around, enjoying their time when they spot a physician, Xu Xian, picking herbs at the foot of the mountain with his friends. Qingqing, being a playful snake, scares him, causing him to fall into the lake below. Susu, being gentler, assumes human form and kisses Xu Xian which allows Vital Essence to flow from her into his body thus saving him. Soon, Xu Xian wakes up and tells his friends about being kissed by a beautiful girl, which only makes them laugh.
After finding a victim of a bat demon, Fahai and Neng Ren leave the temple immediately to subdue the bat demon to avoid more casualties. Xu Xian comes across them and offers a boat ride to the city. Susu starts thinking about the day she kissed Xu Xian and decides to head to the city to find him. Meanwhile, while Qingqing is exploring the city, she came across Neng Ren and decided to help him subdue the bat demon by revealing its location. Neng Ren defeats the bat demon’s cohorts, but is unable to subdue the bat demon king who bites him. Though he is subsequently saved by Fahai, Neng Ren starts turning into a bat demon himself the next day and decides to run away.
In the meanwhile, after a series of pranks, Xu Xian recognizes Susu and they spend the night together, which is rather unfortunate for Xu Xian because he does not know that he was making love to a snake in a human form.
Neng Ren is found by Qinqing and the two befriend each other. They realize that Neng Ren, despite becoming a bat demon, still has all his human taste for human food, and most of his human qualities. Meanwhile, Xu Xian and Susu wed. Shortly after Fahai kills Xu Xian then after seeing a mysterious substance in his medicines he gives Xu Xian a kiss. Susu is then chased by Fahai, who tells her to go die. She doesn’t, which causes Fahai and his disciples to invade her and Xu Xian’s cottage. Susu fights the battle in her snake form, but is stabbed by Xu Xian unaware of her true identity. Susu escapes but is gravely injured. Xu Xian, after realizing what he has done, decides to get the spirit root to heal her.
Helped by Susu’s friend, a mouse, Xu Xian manages to retrieve a root kept inside the Lei Feng Pagoda that could save Susu, but is possessed by demons as a result of this. Fahai and the other monks capture Xu Xian and prepare to cast spells to banish the demons from his body. Susu recovers and she goes to find Xu Xian along with Qinqing. They are confronted by Fahai, who tries to explain to them that the spell should not be broken before it is complete. Susu however does not believe him and accuses him of trying to separate them so the two sisters start battling Fahai. After countless wounds Fahai lies back exhausted. As he looks around he sees Neng Ren helping to save his former colleagues, the monks of the temple who were trying to complete the spell to release Xu Xian from the demons. He looks up at the sky and questions whether he was right to have been a demon hunter all his life.
Susu releases Xu Xian from the spell after which Xu Xian does not have any memory of Susu. Susu blames this on Fahai, after which they have one last battle. Fahai manages to trap Susu in the temple of Lei Feng Pagoda. At this point, Susu repents and asks to see Xu Xian just one last time, as she could accepted any punishments as long as she could see him for the last time. Simultaneously, Fahai gets the answer to his question and understands what he must do. Filled with the divine spirit, he lifts up the pagoda to allow Susu’s last wish to come true.
After a brief reunion with Xu Xian, she tells him of her story of having meditated for a thousand years before she met him. She tells him that it was all worth less than a moment with him, that even he doesn’t remember her, her memory of love with him is enough, and that even if she has to die or live with pain, she won’t regret how much she has to suffer to see him one last time . She kisses him, causing him to remember everything. As the pair go to kiss one last time Susu is sucked back into the temple, leaving Xu Xian chasing her as both cry and reach out for each other.
Qingqing, watching all this from a distance with Neng Ren, tells him that she doesn’t want to love anyone as her sister loved Xu Xian, and leaves saying that he will never be a true bat demon anyway.
After this, we see Xu Xian picking herbs around the temple and inside Susu has returned to her true form as a white snake trapped inside the temple. Fahai is seen walking the mountainside when suddenly Neng Ren (now a complete bat demon) appears alongside him. Throwing him an apple to eat Fahai tells him that his new look suits him, and they continue on the journey together again.
You might find sources below useful to better understand my point of view toward the movie 😉
Movie plot and information:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorcerer_and_the_White_Snake
[Film criticrism] My comments on the movie and book’s plot.
- Devil or human is just coming from a mutual race and there will be some good/bad guys there. But it is really “funny” when Abott Fahai just thinks he has the right to influence and control over other people’s lives without any practical reasons! That is the first mistake: Conservative.
- According to book’s plot, actually Abott Fahai already had a personal enmity towards the White Snake as he wanted to take the sacred ball from her. So the second mistake: indignity and personal enmity!
- Abott Fahai once told to XuXian: “This is my gift and you just can accept it”…What dafug? What type of culture is it? Yeah that’s the third mistake: patronizing characteristic!
- The action of giving XuXian the knife and let him fall into a trap by a toxic liquor that could kill the White Snake are the obvious evidences proving Abott Fahai has a dirty characteristic. Why he didn’t let XuXian decide by himself? The 4th mistake: shifty!
- The problem happened. XuXian’s soul is taken away and 2 snake demons come for a face – to – face meetup to make everything clear. Instead of a peaceful settlement, Abott Fahai chose to go to a war as his solution. Bravo! (of course the snakes’s fault is too hurry which make things worse).
We need to consider a little bit about “STUPID” criteria in Abott Fahai’s characteristic. If he just accepts the love between snakes and XuXian, just one life is sacrified, but if the war breaks out, it costs is thousand of innocient lives! I don’t see anything called “humanity” here, rather than it’s just an stupid ego causes thousand of lives lost. The 5th mistake: stupid and stubbornness. - In the end, the White Snake is detained in the temple of Lei Feng Pagoda.
[Religional criticism] Besides the movie’s plot comments:
- Being a monk means you don’t have any responsibility with social matters? So where your food comes from? Who feeds you? A monk’s responsibilty is all around Buddha’s and pagoda’s matters, the other things the other people will take care of?
- I believe jealousy and greediness cannot exist in a monk, so why they all want to build a luxury and sparkling gilded pagoda for their own? (ah yes, ironically the money comes from society) If Buddha is truly exist, those properties are really necessary? Ah and I nearly forgot that the Buddha in the movie also has his own gigantic pagoda. Dafug!)
- It’s funny when monks think themselves higher than others. They are in a higher class which must be respected by other people, they must be called in a very formal way. Admit it! Those monks are seduced by a illusory fame too!
- With regard to fame, if monks don’t need it, so why there are still different positions and levels system in pagoda? Are they lying to themselves about their own dogma?
So as what we see, the nature of religion is just a political game covered by a ridiculous thing called “spirituality” – an undefined subject and because it is undefined, religion is a perfect protection for those assholes.
Btw, in term of Buddha or Buddhism matters.
If Buddha is real and he is a very kind persion…so why the hell is still existing? Is it the place where most terrible torments which we couldn’t even imagine happen?
Why don’t use mind and mercy to help those criminals? Buddha or Buddhism is just another version of Adolf Hitler. You will alive if you’re obbedent and you die if you’re not! So humanity!
Who is a monk? Find out here: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/monk
Definition of Buddha/Buddhism? Find out here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
Closing
Ironically, the movie and the “monk” character (Jet Li starred) are the perfect model presenting for the kind of person who always thinks they have the right to change and impose their point of view on the others! Watching the movie and I was wondering all the time: is that the sign of Buddha’s love? Is that what we call “humanity”? Is that the true definition of “love”? I just see a disastrous seduction and ridiculous reasons he used to control over people and forced them to do what he wants. Ask yourself, do you really think Buddha worth your belief? Wake up idiots!
A monster can’t be happy? 2 female thousand – year old snake demons are just harmless if no one tries to hurt them. But in the end, the White Snake chose to leave as the love between human and monster is a crime, a prejudice that can never be accepted by “people”. Idiots, NO matter which creature you are, a ghost, a devil or an animal, if love exits inside, NO one can restrict it! Right or wrong is dependable. Are you better than the others to judge them?!
In the end, definition that people based on to distinguish between a devil and a human, the judgment over love between a devil and an human beings are just an distortion of racism. What if I am a soul of devil?! Are all devils evil? You will never know a person standing in front of you is a human or a devil and that is even scarier 😉
Loz… somehow the definition and dogma of Buddha in the movie look like Adolf Hitler, does it? Like those terrible things have to happen for a “thoroughbred” world ahead Loaz! What a “flashy” picture with full of bullshit dogma!
Trailer:
SoulEvilX 
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