Curse of the Golden Flower (B or 3/4 stars)
"Gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside." This Old Chinese proverb (mentioned in a scene) describes the film's Imperial family to a tee.
'Curse of the Golden Flower' is an action/drama written & directed by Zhang Yimou and based on a play by Yu Cao. The setting: China, end of the opulent Tang Dynasty, 928 AD. This film tells the story of how the Imperial Chinese family lose their strength, minds, & (in most cases) their lives on the eve of the Golden Flowered Chong Yang Festival. A power struggle and revelation of forbidden secrets sets loose mass mania among the Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat), the Empress (Gong Li), and their 3 sons, Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), Prince Jai (Jay Chou), & young Prince Yu (Junjie Qin). This film has a little of everything. It thrives in its' cinematography (by Academy Award nominee, Xiaoding Zhau), ornate costumes, lavish sets, martial arts stunt work and, most importantly, high-octane melodrama. The only thing that is lacking is a credible sense of emotional sustenance.
After a brief absence, the Emperor returns to the Imperial Palace just in time for the festival. Things would be sweeter if relations with some of his children & the Empress weren't so chilly. The Empress is ailing with a form of anemia and is forced, ritualistically, to take a mysterious dose of medicine every 2 hours of the day. Before long, we find out that the she is having an affair with the Crown Prince (the emperor's son from a 1st marriage). But the Crown Prince's loyalties lie with Chan (Li Man), the daughter of the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong). Prince Jai, ever-loyal to his father, but concerned for his mother's deteriorating health, finds it difficult to follow her mood swings, obsession with chrysanthemums, & growing hatred towards his father.
Why does she hate him so? Does he have lethal plans to slowly kill her off? What does the Imperial Doctor know of the Emperor's plans? When a woman draped in black (Chen Jin) shows up in secret to speak with the Empress, what secret does she reveal that could shatter the foundations of the royal regime? Who are the mysterious band of assassins who attack the Imperial grounds? Who's desired, and who's loved? Surprise after surprise follows. The myriad of gorgeous festival flowers cannot hide the ugliness that resides behind palace walls. And when a clandestine rebellion swoops over the palace gates in the middle of the night, the millions of yellow chrysanthemums become drenched in red blood.
Chow Yun-Fat is enticing as the cold Emperor. Gong Li is as beautiful & as stoic as a porcelain doll -- the stoic doll does crack, though. And it allows for some rare (and much needed) emotionally-charged scenes. Chen Jin is haunting as the mysterious woman who shows up to confess her true identity to the Empress. And Jay Chou is completely convincing as the middle son, Prince Jai, as he struggles to either obey his father, or side with 'mother'.
This film can best be described as a perfect mix of incestuous Greek mythology, Shakespearean tragedy & a little of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon thrown in for good measure. The meticulous detail that went into showing us the jobs that each palace worker had to undertake is incredible. The golden armor adorned by the warriors, those intricate gowns, the colorful imagery, the hysterics that play-out among the royals, the magnanimous battle scene in the end ... it's all orchestrated with great care. Finishing in a frantic flurry of soap-opera/melodramatic madness, 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is succulent in its visuals, but could have blown me out of the water with some thicker exposition & emotional resonance. Still, I enjoyed watching it.
'Curse of the Golden Flower' is an action/drama written & directed by Zhang Yimou and based on a play by Yu Cao. The setting: China, end of the opulent Tang Dynasty, 928 AD. This film tells the story of how the Imperial Chinese family lose their strength, minds, & (in most cases) their lives on the eve of the Golden Flowered Chong Yang Festival. A power struggle and revelation of forbidden secrets sets loose mass mania among the Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat), the Empress (Gong Li), and their 3 sons, Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), Prince Jai (Jay Chou), & young Prince Yu (Junjie Qin). This film has a little of everything. It thrives in its' cinematography (by Academy Award nominee, Xiaoding Zhau), ornate costumes, lavish sets, martial arts stunt work and, most importantly, high-octane melodrama. The only thing that is lacking is a credible sense of emotional sustenance.
After a brief absence, the Emperor returns to the Imperial Palace just in time for the festival. Things would be sweeter if relations with some of his children & the Empress weren't so chilly. The Empress is ailing with a form of anemia and is forced, ritualistically, to take a mysterious dose of medicine every 2 hours of the day. Before long, we find out that the she is having an affair with the Crown Prince (the emperor's son from a 1st marriage). But the Crown Prince's loyalties lie with Chan (Li Man), the daughter of the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong). Prince Jai, ever-loyal to his father, but concerned for his mother's deteriorating health, finds it difficult to follow her mood swings, obsession with chrysanthemums, & growing hatred towards his father.
Why does she hate him so? Does he have lethal plans to slowly kill her off? What does the Imperial Doctor know of the Emperor's plans? When a woman draped in black (Chen Jin) shows up in secret to speak with the Empress, what secret does she reveal that could shatter the foundations of the royal regime? Who are the mysterious band of assassins who attack the Imperial grounds? Who's desired, and who's loved? Surprise after surprise follows. The myriad of gorgeous festival flowers cannot hide the ugliness that resides behind palace walls. And when a clandestine rebellion swoops over the palace gates in the middle of the night, the millions of yellow chrysanthemums become drenched in red blood.
Chow Yun-Fat is enticing as the cold Emperor. Gong Li is as beautiful & as stoic as a porcelain doll -- the stoic doll does crack, though. And it allows for some rare (and much needed) emotionally-charged scenes. Chen Jin is haunting as the mysterious woman who shows up to confess her true identity to the Empress. And Jay Chou is completely convincing as the middle son, Prince Jai, as he struggles to either obey his father, or side with 'mother'.
This film can best be described as a perfect mix of incestuous Greek mythology, Shakespearean tragedy & a little of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon thrown in for good measure. The meticulous detail that went into showing us the jobs that each palace worker had to undertake is incredible. The golden armor adorned by the warriors, those intricate gowns, the colorful imagery, the hysterics that play-out among the royals, the magnanimous battle scene in the end ... it's all orchestrated with great care. Finishing in a frantic flurry of soap-opera/melodramatic madness, 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is succulent in its visuals, but could have blown me out of the water with some thicker exposition & emotional resonance. Still, I enjoyed watching it.