''A Chinese Tall Story'' () is a 2005 Hong Kong fantasy adventure film written and directed by

Jeffrey Lau Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai (; born 5 February 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Lau is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies. His comedies include '' A Chinese Odyssey'' (with Stephen Chow) and '' C ...

. The story is loosely based on the 16th-century novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

''.

Synopsis

It is a twisted story about

Tang Sanzang Tang Sanzang () is a central character in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. Tang Sanzang is based on the historical Buddhist monk Xuanzang. He is also widely known by his courtesy name, Tang Seng, () or Sanzang (). ...

and his three disciples who are journeying west to acquire

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

scriptures. While stopping in Shache City (present day

Yarkand Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...

), they come under attack by minions of the evil Tree Demon. The

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime ...

capture his three disciples.

is then captured by the king of reptiles and placed under the care of the ugly and shunned Meiyan, who falls in love with Sanzang. Luckily for him, an alien princess rescues him, and Meiyan decides to team up with the princess in order to rescue the disciples.

Plot

(

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV c ...

) and his three disciples

Sun Wukong The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel '' Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

(

Bolin Chen Chen Bolin (; born 27 August 1983), also known as Wilson Chen, is a Taiwanese actor. Early life and education Chen was born on 27 August 1983. While in high school, Chen participated in the Taiwanese variety show ' due to his similarity to Ta ...

), Zhu Wuneng (

Kenny Kwan Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun (born December 30, 1980) is a Philippine-born Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor, under the music label Emperor Entertainment Group. He was born in the Philippines but grew up in Hong Kong. At age 20, he and his friend, S ...

), and

Sha Wujing Sha Wujing () is one of the three disciples of the Buddhist pilgrim Tang Sanzang in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming dynasty, although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the sour ...

( Steven Cheung) arrive triumphantly to a hero's welcome in Shache city. Tripitaka's most arduous challenge to achieve deification is to come, only he can perform. During their stay in the city, the three disciples are captured by evil Tree Spirits. Tripitaka borrows the Golden Pole and tries to find a way to save them. He meets a young lizard imp Meiyan (Charlene Choi) who is more than a visual match for Quasimodo: matted bushy hair, and teeth of any dentist's nightmare. Meiyan falls in love with Tripitaka at first sight and devotes herself to trailing him. She even sets a love trap to ensnare him. Tripitaka unwittingly falls into the trap and in the process breaks the Heavenly Code. The region is one full of monsters, strange beings and creatures of unknown origins and among them are the beautiful Princess XiaoShan (Fan Bing-bing) and her army. On a passing journey to Earth her path crosses Tripitaka's and she vows her aid. Tripitaka decides to leave with the Princess. Meiyan is heartbroken. She picks a fight with Princess XiaoShan and, although she loses, she finally discovers her own identity as a galactic warrior. She eventually helps the princess in defeating the enemy and rescues Tripitaka and his disciples. After the battle, Meiyan surrenders to the Temple of Heaven for judgment. Torn between passion and righteousness, Tripitaka rebels against the heavens to rescue the gallows-bound Meiyan. A benevolent Buddha is moved and pardons the two on condition that they embark on a journey to the West to accomplish the Eight-One Tasks to redeem themselves and save the world.

Cast

Zhu Bajie Zhu Bajie (), also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang and a major character of the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West''. Zhu means " swine" and Bajie means " eight precepts". Buddhist scholars consider that both e ...

* Steven Cheung as

Charlene Choi Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin ( zh, t=蔡卓妍; born 22 November 1982) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung. Early life Choi was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ...

as Yue Meiyan *

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time ...

as Princess Xiaoshan *

Isabella Leong Luísa Isabella Nolasco da Silva Leong Lok-yau (born 23 June 1988), better known as Isabella Leong, is a Macanese actress and former singer. Early life Luísa Isabella Nolasco da Silva was born on 23 June 1988, in Macao to Luís Alberto Marques ...

as Red Child * Patrick Tam *

Yuen Wah Yuen Wah (born Yung Kai-chi; 2 September 1952) is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series. Early life Born Yung Kai-chi on 2 September 1950 ...

as Turtle *

Kenny Bee Chung Chun-to (born 23 February 1953), also known by his stage name Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the singer of the group the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong ente ...

Tats Lau Tats Lau Yee-Tat (; born 23 February 1963) is a Hong Kong musician, songwriter, singer and actor. Music career During the 1980s, Tats Lau was active in Hong Kong's independent music scene. He established several underground bands including D ...

Yat-fei Wong Wong Yat-fei (born August 19, 1946) is a Hong Kong cinema actor who has acted in numerous Cantonese films. Wong is best known for his role as Iron Head in '' Shaolin Soccer'' for which he won popular awards. He has appeared in more than 139 fi ...

Lee Kin-yan Lee Kin-yan (; born 12 May 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, who frequently makes comic cameo appearances in Stephen Chow's films, as a cross-dressing man with a finger up his nose known as Yu Fa (Chinese: 如花; Cantonese: yu fa; Mandarin: ru2 hua1 ...

*Joe Phua *Michael Chan *Gordon Liu *Kara Hui A Chinese Tall Story at chinesemov.com
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Soundtrack

''All compositions by

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...

.'' # "Sacred Love" # "Prologue - Triumphant Entrance" # "Dogfight Over Shache" # "Words Are Lethal" # "Rout Of The Four Heavenly Knights" # "Lover's Gambit" # "Longing for You" # "Yours Truly, Tripitaka" # "The Conspiracy" # "Capitulation" # "Twirling Snow" # "Alien Invasion" # "I Can Fly!" # "Help Is on the Way" # "Annihilation Of The Tree Spirit" # "The Princess's Secret" # "Storming of the Celestial Court" # "I Know" # "Divine Manifestation" # "A Journey West"

References

External links

*
Official website of ''A Chinese Tall Story''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Tall Story, A 2005 films Hong Kong films Cantonese-language films Fantasy adventure films Films based on Journey to the West Films directed by Jeffrey Lau Films scored by Joe Hisaishi