3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
3D肉蒲团之极乐宝鉴
Hong Kong, 2011, colour, 1.85:1, 3-D, 112 mins.
Director: Sun Liji 孙立基 [Christopher Sun].
Rating: 6/10.
Okay but over-long costume hijinks that turn rather dark in the second half.
STORY
Ancient China. Wei Yangsheng (Hayama Hiro) is a young scholar who is obsessed with seeking sexual pleasure. Accompanying his wealthy friend Lin (Tian Qiwen) to meet Tie Yuxiang (Lan Yan), the unmarried only daughter of Daoist priest Tie Fei, for a potential match, Wei Yangsheng falls for her instead and – to Lin’s annoyance – she reciprocates. The two marry but their sex life is hindered by her inexperience and his habit of premature ejaculation. One day, Wei Yangsheng accompanies Lin to the mountain-top Tower of Rarities, an exclusive collection of artistic treasures owned by the Prince of Ning (He Huachao), where he is invited into the inner sanctum of the Pavilion of Ultimate Bliss, a haven of hedonism and unlimited sexual pleasure. There he meets the prince’s favourite woman, coitus expert Ruizhu (Hara Saori), as well as the sadistic Dongmei (Suo Yukiko) and the androgynous Elder of Bliss (Lei Kaixin). To cure Wei Yangsheng’s sexual problem, The Elder of Bliss suggests he gets a donkey’s penis transplant, and afterwards Wei Yangsheng abandons himself to unlimited sexual pleasure. Meanwhile, under pressure from her family, Wei Yangsheng’s wife plans to divorce him; but by now The Prince of Ning has him in a deadly trap.
REVIEW
Since mystery-melodrama Natalie 나탈리 (2010), directed by Ju Gyeong-jung 주경중, beat it to the post last October [2010] as the world’s first 3-D erotic movie, this Hong Kong production has had to be content with being the first Chinese-language 3-D erotic movie. But it comfortably beats the glossy, more sensuous South Korean production on every other front – from sheer silliness through use of the stereoscopic process to sex, violence and naughty bits – while still remaining, like Nathalie, technically softcore. That said, this first feature by Sun Liji 孙立基 [Christopher Sun] is too often blockily directed (the camera seemingly tied by the technology), suddenly swings midway from comic raunchiness to cartoonish sadism, and simply isn’t as playful, exotic or just plain erotic as the original 1990s trio – especially the first outing, Sex and Zen 玉蒲团之偷情宝鉴 (1991), directed by Mai Dangjie 麦当杰 [Michael Mak] and starring the pneumatic Ye Zimei 叶子楣 [Amy Yip] at the peak of her fame, and Sex and Zen II 玉蒲团2之玉女心经 (1996), directed by Qian Wenqi 钱文锜 [Chin Man-kei], with Shu Qi 舒淇 and Li Lizhen 李丽珍 [Loletta Lee].
Manga-like sadism was always a component of the original series but in 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy 3D肉蒲团之极乐宝鉴 it dominates the second half in such a way as to effectively make the picture seem like two separate films. The other surprise is that, sexually, the film is way less inventive and much more conservative than the 1990s series. The 3-D process is exploited more during action than sex scenes, with only one shot (40 minutes in) of an actress’ breasts thrust into the audience and most others more interested in whizzing bullets than anything more erotic.
With none of the playfulness of, say, Xu Jinjiang 徐锦江 [Elvis Tsui] in II and III of the original series, Japanese actor-model Hayama Hiro 叶山豪 makes a fairly bland protagonist who undergoes a massive organ transplant to indulge his cybaritic impulses. Of the Japanese AV actresses, Hara Saori 原纱央莉 (aka Nanami Mai 七海まい) easily outranks her compatriot Suo Yukiko 周防ゆきこ and Chinese co-stars in sexiness and intrigue but gets limited screen time. Mainland actress Lan Yan 蓝燕 spends most of the second half screaming and being tortured, while Hong Kong’s Lei Kaixin 雷凯欣 has the most fun as an androgyne.
As a whole, the Red One-sourced movie is professionally mounted and enjoyable in an undemanding way; but it’s also limited in its imagination and production design, and lacking a light comedic touch to leaven the routine. (A thunderous, satanic score, complete with choirs, drives much of the second half’s action.) A longer version of about 128 minutes has also been prepared but may only be seen on DVD. Given the repetitiveness of the 112-minute Hong Kong version (reviewed here), especially in the middle section, adding a further quarter of an hour may not be a very god idea.
CREDITS
Presented by One Dollar Productions (HK). Produced by One Dollar Productions (HK), Local Production (HK), Newport (HK), China 3D (HK).
Script: Xiao Ruoyuan [Stephen Shiu], Xiao Dingyi, Hu Yaohui [Mark Wu]. Photography: Wang Jincheng. Editing: Zhong Weizhao [Azrael Chung], Xu Weijie [Matthew Hui]. Music: Huang Yinghua [Raymond Wong Ying-wah]. Art direction: Yu Xinghua. Costume design: Zhang Fangdi. Sound: Zeng Jingxiang [Kinson Tsang]. Action: Li Dachao. Visual effects: Yu Tianlong. 3-D visual effects: Ou Qingxiang (Digital Magic).
Cast: Hayama Hiro (Wei Yangsheng), Hara Saori (Ruizhu), Lan Yan (Tie Yuxiang, Wei’s wife), Lei Kaixin (The Elder of Bliss), Suo Yukiko (Dongmei), Chen Yiling (Pandan), He Huachao (Prince of Ning), Tian Qiwen (Lin), Huang Shutang (Buddhist abbot), Hasegawa Naami [Kinoshita Tomoko], Chen Rifeng (Shu Tong), Chen Qiuping (Xianlan, Tie Yuxiang’s maid), Zhang Jiansheng (Lin), Yao Luoming (Shangguan Shen), Lian Qilan.
Release: Hong Kong, 14 Apr 2011.
(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 16 May 2011.)