Mural (film)

Mural is a 2011 Chinese film co-written, co-produced and directed by Gordon Chan, which stars Deng Chao, Sun Li, Yan Ni, Collin Chou, Zheng Shuang and Eric Tsang. It is directed by the same director who directed Painted Skin (2008). Both stories are drawn from Pu Songling's (1640–1715) collection of supernatural tales Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

Plot
The scholar Zhu Xiaolian and his page Hou Xia, on their way to the capital to take the imperial examination, encounter a bandit named Meng Longtan and engage in a fierce fight. Eventually, they arrive at an ancient temple where they are persuaded to reconcile by the Monk BuDong. In the temple, Zhu Xiaolian discovers a mural depicting lifelike figures. While gazing at the mural, Zhu is taken into a fairyland called the "WanHuaLin(Forest of Ten Thousand Flowers)" by a fairy named Peony who emerges from the painting.

In the WanHuaLin, there are no men, only a group of beautiful fairies living under the strict rule of a leader known as "Auntie." Despite their unique skills, the fairies are oppressed by Auntie's authoritarian rule. Auntie forbids them from having feelings for men and is ruthless towards any man who dares to enter the fairyland without permission. In this peculiar paradise, Zhu Xiaolian meets the successor fairy Shaoyao, who helps him avoid being discovered by Auntie and safely return to the human world. However, Peony is caught by Auntie for bringing a man into the fairyland.

Upon returning to his world, Zhu Xiaolian finds that Peony on the mural is suffering as a punishment, and his page informs him that the mural is a depiction of hell. Out of a sense of righteousness, Zhu Xiaolian decides to return to the "Painting Wall" world. With the help of the Monk BuDong, Zhu Xiaolian, along with Hou Xia and Meng Longtan, enters the fairyland. To their surprise, Auntie welcomes the three guests and invites them to choose wives from among the fairies to continue the lineage of the Forest of Ten Thousand Flowers. To avoid suspicion, Zhu Xiaolian pretends to choose Peony's friend Cui Zhu as his wife, while Hou Xia and Meng Longtan also select their wives, unaware that Auntie plans to kill them after using them. Learning that Peony has been detained by Auntie, Zhu Xiaolian seeks Shaoyao's help to rescue her, embarking on a series of magical adventures.

Cast

 * Deng Chao as Zhu Xiaolian
 * Sun Li as Shaoyao
 * Yan Ni as The Aunt
 * Collin Chou as Meng Longtan
 * Zheng Shuang as Mudan
 * Eric Tsang as Monk Budong (guest star)
 * Andy On as Golden Warrior
 * Monica Mok as Ding Xiang
 * Ada Liu as fairy Yunmei
 * Bao Wenjing as Baihe
 * Xia Yiyao as Xuelian
 * Bao Beier as Hou Xia, Zhu's servant
 * Du Shiwu as housekeeper
 * Xie Nan as Fairy Cuizhu

Theme music
The title song for the movie is also named "Mural". The singers are Deng Chao and Betty Sun.

Accolades
Zheng Shuang won the Best New Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Award for her performance.

Trivia
Deng Chao and Betty Sun who played the roles of hero and heroine in the movie was in fact married in 2010, shortly before the movie was filmed. The couple's first child was born in 2011, shortly after the movie was released.

All of the fairies are named after flowers. Shaoyao is Chinese peony. Mudan is rock peony. Ding Xiang is cloves.