Curse Of The Golden Flower

get Curse of the Golden Flower

Year: 2006

Director: Yimou Zhang

Writer: Yu Cao (play) & Yimou Zhang

Budget: $45 million (estimated)

Gross: $4 538 871 (as of January 14th 2007)

Curse Of The Golden Flower is the latest spectacle from acclaimed chinese director yimou zhang, and i mean spectacle in the best sense of the word.  anyone familiar with two of his other films, Hero and House Of Flying Daggers will know exactly how good his spectacles are.  however, based on those two films they might also have certain expectations about Curse Of The Golden Flower that might not be completely fair or accurate.

i say this, because i am one of those people.  i liked Hero and the Rashomonesque story, and i really liked House Of Flying Daggers, which is still one of the most visually stunning films i have seen.  the point is however, that those two films feature much more fighting and martial artistry then does Curse Of The Golden Flower.  This isn't a problem for the film, but you know how it is.  sometimes we go in expecting certain things from a movie and are too focused on those things and therefor unable to appreciate the film for what it is on its own, and i don't want you to miss out on Curse Of The Golden Flower for such a reason.

Also, that doesn't mean there is no fighting or flying ninjas and gorgeous sword fights.  in fact, the last 20 minutes or so of the movie is an incredible battle sequence that is both very gory and absolutely gorgeous at the same time.  the cinematography and choreography is a feast for the eyes.
as is the art direction which happens to be the only thing the film has been nominated for at this years academy awards.

so what is the film about you ask?  well, the story takes place during the time of the tang dynasty, 10th century in china and stars chow yun-fat as the emperor ping and gong li as his empress phoenix.  they have two sons together and the emperor also has another son from a previous relationship.  the movie begins with the return of the emperor and his son from war on the pretext of celebrating the chong yang festival with the entire family.  it all seems innocent enough, but within the palace walls secrets abound.

for me the film was shakespeare.  there are princes, emperors, empresses, scandal, family secrets, double-crosses, incest, love, plotting, loss and death.  it was macbeth and hamlet set in 10th century china.  grand sets, grand themes , grand emotions and grand acting are what the film gives us, and it works.  the academy nominated art direction is stunning and it will be a long time before you forget the gorgeous rainbow colored interior of the palace or the carpet of bright yellow chrysanthemums covering the ground of the great courtyard of the forbidden city (over 1 million chrysanthemums were used).

Curse Of The Golden Flower is the most expensive chinese film to date and you can see every last penny of that $45 million dollars right up there on the screen.  this is the first film in the filmed but not forgotten series that is currently in the theaters at the time of the review which is why the box office numbers are obviously not complete.  however, given that the current north american haul isn't great and that it was somehow passed over by the academy for a foreign film nomination it is one that definitely deserves to be here.  also, given the grand spectacle, the gorgeous colors and the large scale final battle scene, Curse Of The Golden Flower is a movie that really deserves to be seen on the big screen - so try to remember this one before it heads to video.

Comments

[Gary]

To me a good Hollywood action spectacle is like a good blockbuster novel.A plotboiler of a plot hung on action sequences with just enough character development to get by. A chinese movie spectacle is like a great poem. Great slap dashes of color laid over overwrought situations where writhe with angst and most of the meaning sits under the surface like the bulk of an iceberg. I love both when either is well done but they seem to very different views of what an action spectacle is. Though with the world becoming smaller ever day they are becoming more like each other and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I loved Hero but didn't care as much for House of Flying Daggers where I though the spectacle overwhelmed the plot. A really great over looked movie in this chinese swordsman genre is Ashes of Time by Wong Kar Wei. Hard to get a good copy on DVD, so it's hard to find, which is too bad, but well worth the effort.

[Jesse]

they do definitely come from two different angles so to speak. and while there are more and more similarities, each genre combines them from their own unique perspective which is good - when it works of course.... and thanks for the recommendation gary - i like wong kar wei and i will definitely try to find Ashes Of Time. i have a really good video store near me that actually might have it -

[Gary]

It's a great genre and for a while there in the late 90's Hong Kong action movies were the most creative and exciting stuff coming out. They really pushed the envelope in all areas. Good luck with the Ashes of Time search. I first saw the movie on Laser Disc which had a decent print and so-so subtitles. Then they came out with a region 1 DVD copy that was horrible. The print was not as good and they put a grey bar behind the subtitles which took up the whole bottom of the screen and was terribly distracting. There is a non region 1 DVD floating around out there which is the laser disc print but it's nearly impossible to find here.

[Kate]

I'll definately keep an eye out for Ashes of Time, Gary. Thanks. I missed 2046 when it came through my art theatre- was it good?

I saw Curse of the Golden Flower a week or so ago. It was good, but not great- a bit flawed in its writing and direction. I can't quite put my finger on why, but maybe it wasn't quite stylized enough (which is saying a lot, as it was a pretty stylized film). I saw it with a group of 4 guys and 1 girl and I had to move to a different part of the theatre because they started talking during it- they didn't get it, thought it was just bad. I don't know what the film could have done differently to catch them, but I think they came to a certain point in the film, when you had to just accept the craziness onscreen or not, and they didn't and I did. I think it was a very interesting film and one that'll tell you a lot about someone when you discuss it. All in all, a film worth seeing, but at second-run theatres or at matinee price, not full price.

[jesse]

i think maybe i just accepted it all from the get go, but i do understand where you are coming from - i have also heard it referred to as an opera or even a soap opera which can also be accurate (i went with shakespeare because that was what jumped to mind right after and even during the film) - but there is a definite over-the-topness that one has to accept and since there is more drama then fighting in this one if you don't 'get it' then i guess you could just not like it or even be bored - - my only real complaint was that corny song at the end over the final moments and then the end credits - it was this big final moment, and the song i found was in such dichotomy to it that it pulled me out of the mood right away.

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