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So
it’s with some relief the mantle of Asian action trilogies was passed
to Chinese director Yimou Zhang. He not only told Chinese stories in
his own language with his own cultural heritage and a genuine love of
the medium, he kept Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Memoirs of a Geisha) in regular work as the go-to girl for every young Asian female role.
The lack of action and overdose of cinematography of Hero and House of Flying Daggers rankled some viewers, so it’s gratifying to see Zhang get the blend just right in Curse of the Golden Flower.
It’s
ancient times once again and at the centre of the drama is the
squabbling royal family consisting of the cruel emperor (Yun-Fat), the
beautiful empress (Li) whose icy determination to alter her fate is
matched only by her love of her adoptive children, and the three crown
prices in line to inherit the throne.
It’s a time where
everything is a ceremony, even casual talks with family members, and
Zhang and his cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao exploit the visual
possibilities to the full, every frame of the film a canvas with a riot
of colour and form lovingly crafted on it.
What Zhang doesn’t
forget this time is the action, and as the dirty secrets in the royal
family are revealed and the players jostle to play their hands, menace
and violence slowly build to a clanging CGI climax of blades and blood.
Like a feudal Chinese Terms of Endearment,
it’s also the biggest pro democracy statement ever to come out of
China, and how the party censors let it out of the country is a
miracle. As armies, assassins and inconveniently placed witnesses and
patsies fall under the sword in the name of a power struggle between
five people, there’s never been a louder plea for the sort of checks
and balances that restrains absolute power.
Its native language
gives the film an inherent credibility and there are few of the pacing
or style-over-substance problems that hampered Zhang’s previous
efforts. If you want to isolate one anomaly, it’s the endless
procession corsets crushing breasts up and out of traditional dress
like it was eighteenth century Paris instead of pre-unified China.
With
their demure, innocent eyes and heaving bosoms the cream of Asia’s
young female acting talent look like live action manga-inspired porn
starlets. A historian may prove us wrong, but we’re fairly confident
Chinese traditional garb in the 10th century was a little more chaste.
Sumptuous, graphic, tense and beautiful.
EXTRAS
Some
impressive little extras here, most of which you will find satisfaction
with. "Secrets within Documentary", "The Empress", "The Emperor" are
the best of the bunch.
Photo Gallery and trailers are also included. Conclusion:
Movie 65% Extras: 50%
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