Madam White Snake
(Baeksa Buin)

Reprising a popular legend that was part of the repertoire of great Chinese operas, Shin Sang-ok adds a string to his bow to further his ambition of trying his hand at all forms of popular cinema. Here, the fantastic liberates him from a head-on and contemporary relationship with the melodrama, but he still maintains the same careful attention to the poignant female destinies that established his reputation. This time, Choi Eun-hee plays a magical age-old snake who, after turning into a woman, falls in love with a pharmacist whom she marries. Having forgotten to ask the gods’ permission to enter the earthly realm, she is given the order to return to the spirit world before 7th July… In 1969, Shin Sang-ok directed his own remake of the film under the title The Snake Woman. JB