Seemingly mute Taoist ghost-buster in training Sap Yee (frequent Jackie Chan flick regular Biao Yuen, Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain) takes in a kindly scholar, Chui Hung-Chien (Lawrence Ng, Sex and Zen) after he inadvertently burns his pad to the ground fighting a ghost that takes the form of an old man with sentient hair!
Eventually, Sappy’s curmudgeonly master Wu Men-Chu (Wu Ma, A Chinese Ghost Story… he also directed and co-wrote this film) returns home after a ghostly encounter with the bewitching King Ghost (Elizabeth Lee in her debut) and it’s umbrella wielding minions.
Speaking of ol’ King G, a young princess named Mok Sau (Joey Wang, again with the A Chinese Ghost Story) has recently offed herself to avoid it’s clutches and has in turn become a ghost… a ghost that Chui falls in love with!
Will our heroes be able to defeat King Ghost and friends and bring peace to Mok Sau… or will they soon join the ranks of the ghostly dead?!
Notice how I mentioned Siu-Tung Ching’s absolute legend of a film, A Chinese Ghost Story a few times up yonder?
That’s because besides sharing cast members, Picture of a Nymph is one of many films that sought to carry on the romantic ghostly goings-on made popular in that flick… and it does exactly that incredibly well!
After an epic opening followed by an impassioned song about sensible bathing we are thrown into a whirlwind of high-flying, gravity defying stunt-work, beautiful cinematography, some laughs, and a whole haunted handbag of ghosts!
With fog-enshrouded forests, ancient temples, and moody lighting providing plenty of ambiance, the ghostly set-pieces and fantasy elements come fast and furious and include such absolute awesomeness as: King Ghost’s umbrella corp. forming a conjoined serpentine fighting formation, “living” origami birds, a laser-shooting sword, that aforementioned hair-happy old ghost, an unhinged musical number from Wu Ma (if you dig it here you’ll positively blow your load when you get to the end credits… it appears elsewhere on this release as well)… and that’s just a mere fraction of the spectacles at hand!
And if all that doesn’t sound disparate enough, along with the paranormal ass-kicking, we also get a fairy tale-style romance… and I didn’t even get to the magical paintings and pseudo-bumper cars…
While obviously comprised of an absolutely bat-shit collection of seemingly random components, everything seems like it belongs together in the narrative… plus it all gels into a totally bewitching dream-scape dressed in swirling smoke and flowing fabric!
All of that bananas bombast up there looks pretty damn spiffy, as 88 Films have presented Picture of a Nymph in a brand-spankin’ new 2K restoration sourced from the film’s original negative that boasts some eye-popping color and incredible clarity… so much so that certain production details are clearly visible!
As for special features present here, we get a duo of audio commentaries (one provided by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival, while the other is courtesy of Film Critic/Author David West that when combined provide compelling info on the film’s production as well as the cinematic history that led to Picture of a Nymph’s creation, an image gallery, and the film’s original trailer.
The package also features a number of limited edition perks which include a sturdy slipcase adorned with some rad-as-fuck imagery courtesy of Artist Sean Longmore, a 40 page perfect bound book, and a premium art-card.
If you desire a Chinese historical fairy/ghost story sprinkled with some Sam Raimi style razzle-dazzle… and honestly why wouldn’t you?… then I strongly urge you to experience Picture of a Nymph; it’s often jaw-dropping, frantic, and filled with outrageous outré action!
