Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils

Synopsis

Overview

The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon is a Chinese-language film released in 2024, directed by Hong Kong director Wong Ching-po. The film blends elements of action and suspense genres. With its distinctive dark style, tight narrative, and profound thematic exploration, it garnered widespread attention and acclaim upon release. The film is on Zhi...

Overview

The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon is a Chinese-language film released in 2024, directed by Hong Kong director Wong Ching-po. The film blends elements of action and suspense genres, and gained widespread attention and acclaim upon its release for its unique noir style, tight narrative, and profound thematic exploration. It achieved a high score of 8.4 on the popular review site Douban, becoming one of the most notable Chinese-language films of 2024. The film's title is inspired by the anecdote "Zhou Chu Eliminates the Three Evils" from the Shishuo Xinyu of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in China. However, the film does not directly retell the ancient story. Instead, it uses a modern setting and new character relationships to offer a highly modern, darkly allegorical reinterpretation of themes such as "evil" and "eliminating evil," crime and punishment, and self-redemption.

Plot

The film tells a story filled with a sense of fate and violence. The protagonist, Chen Guilin (played by Ethan Juan), is a fugitive wanted by the police, notorious in the underworld for his ferocity. By chance, he learns that he is only ranked third on the police's most-wanted list, a discovery that unexpectedly pricks his "pride." Much like the ancient Zhou Chu who, upon hearing he was listed alongside a fierce tiger and a flood dragon as one of the local "Three Evils," decided to eliminate the evils for the people, Chen Guilin develops an absurd and obsessive idea: he will find the two fugitives ranked above him—"Hong Kong Boy" (played by Ben Yuen) and "The尊者" (played by Chen Yiwen)—and eliminate them one by one. He believes this will prove he is the "most formidable" one, even fantasizing that this act will allow him to "leave his name in history."

His pursuit gradually evolves into a bloody tour of violence. While hunting the second-ranked fugitive, "Hong Kong Boy," he encounters complex violent conflicts and fleeting glimpses of humanity. When he finally locates the top-ranked fugitive, "The尊者," who has changed his name and hidden within a suspected cult organization called "The New Spirit Society," the plot takes a sharp turn into a more bizarre, oppressive, and psychologically manipulative environment. Chen Guilin's initially simple plan of "a thief robbing a thief" encounters challenges of faith, brainwashing, and collective madness here. Action sequences gradually intertwine with psychological suspense, leading to an unexpected and thought-provoking conclusion. Beneath its violent exterior, the core of the story explores sin, vanity, self-perception, and the possibility of seeking redemption.

Cast

The following are the main actors and their roles in the film:

Cultural Impact

After its release, The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon sparked widespread cultural discussion due to its bold subject matter and stylized treatment. Firstly, the film successfully adapted a classical Chinese fable into a modern, noir cinematic form, providing a novel and impactful approach for the contemporary transformation of traditional cultural IPs. It shifts focus away from the traditional moral lesson of "turning over a new leaf," instead delving deeply into how the allure of "infamy" itself can distort individual behavior and offering a harsh interrogation of the paths to "redemption" within a modern societal context.

Secondly, the film's portrayal of the operational model of a cult organization and its mind-control techniques, though extreme, reflects real-world social phenomena where individuals, suffering from spiritual emptiness and seeking solace, may go astray. This prompted audiences to contemplate related social issues. The scenes depicting "The New Spirit Society" are particularly chilling and became one of the most discussed aspects of the film.

Finally, on the performance level, Ethan Juan's transformative performance was highly praised. He vividly portrayed the character's layers of brutality, naivety, confusion, and despair, delivering one of the most representative screen performances of his career. Within the framework of a commercial genre film, it maintained an auteur's expression and a high degree of artistic completion, enhancing the depth and breadth of Chinese-language action-suspense films. It is considered a phenomenal work of 2024.

References

1. Douban Movie. The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon Introduction and Rating. https://movie.douban.com/subject/36151692/
2. Mtime. 2024 Film The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon: A Noir Violent Poem of Classical Retelling. https://www.mtime.com/article/3076439.html (Note: This is an example format; the actual article title may differ, but Mtime has coverage and reviews of the film.)
3. YouTube. Official Trailer for The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z2qX9Q6w0k