Rating: 4/5
Hooptober 4.0 | 29/31 | Terrible oversight
In the olden days, there were many Chinese legends. Some are about spirits and monks, while others are about ghosts and fairies. These legends were popular with all audiences. One legend occurs in the Song dynasty, maybe in the 11th century. A scholar failed the imperial exam. All he knew how to do was study, but he couldn't find a decent job, so he started working as a copyist. It was a living. One day he got a letter from a monk at the Ocean Mudra Temple asking him to copy a Buddhist sutra. He wasn't a Buddhist nor did he believe in a spirit world. But then he thought it over and could hardly say no to the money. It was merely another job, after all.
Ho stands at a cliff’s edge, waves crashing against it. The sun glows golden yellow as it rises. He traverses the mountains. A rainbow greets him on one descent — flowing water, and tender flowers. He makes his way to the Ocean Mudra Temple at Gaya Mountain.
There, a monk advises Ho not to speak as the monk fetches the sutra and prayer beads for him. The master will show him the mudra — he must only listen and follow. Ho enters and bows before the master. The master guides Ho in the mudra before handing off the sutra.
Master Pujing, in the capital, needs the sutra for a ritual to release lost souls who died in the wilderness. Whoever possesses it can navigate the realms of life and death. Some believe that whoever possesses it can control evil.
Ho travels to stay with Tsui Hung-chih, adviser to General Han, during his transcribing. We follow him on his journey as he meets a recurring cast of characters: a standoffish traveler, a Buddhist lama who watches Ho from a distance, and a flutist who appears and disappears in a second. He encounters shadows at a distance who avoid him — restless ghosts or demonic entities from the underworld?
Everyone is welcoming when Ho arrives at Tsui’s place, but they all seem to keep secrets from Ho.
The film emphasizes travel and nature — the journey between destinations is as important as the place itself. Every location has a rich atmosphere and personality. The countryside comes to life with walls, pavilions, and temples littering the landscape.
The film is over three hours long. It is content to wander, not aimlessly, but gently forward in the formal structure of an old Chinese legend. Day and night attach to a moment with no obvious consistency. As a result, some viewers will probably find this movie slow or boring.
For me, the vibe was right in my comfort zone of cozy and uncanny — fantastical horror, firmly rooted in the thin membrane between the human and the supernatural.