My look at Days Of Being Wild is coming soon, but in the meantime, I felt a bit peckish for the old Zhang Yimou wuxia, so I cracked open House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, the latter of which I hadn't seen on DVD yet. Getting around to Hero, per this odd elliptical order, later tonight.
First, House of Flying Daggers. I still love this movie. I realised early on when first watching this film that it is not really about the titular 'house', a clan of mostly female dagger throwing rebels who are fighting the corrupt Tang dynasty. This film doesn't even have the political subtext of Hero, it is really solely about its characters, the sides they find themselves on is merely the impetus for a drama about lust, betrayal and tragedy of truly operatic proportions. True, the film suffers from a plot whose twists border on the nonsensical and the script was clearly hastily rewritten to eliminate Anita Mui's character (she died shortly before filming and Zhang did not want to recast the character), but the melodrama is truly superb and the choreographed fight scenes and Zhang's characteristic use of strong primary colours remain stunning. The 'echo game' with Zhang Ziyi's character in the Peony Pavilion is utterly beautiful and is the rather early highlight of this film.
Curse of the Golden Flower - This is a decidedly atypical film for the modern wuxia epics, at least those popular in the West. Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhang's earlier films Hero and House of Flying Daggers dealt largely with outsiders, roving athletes quick with a sword. The films, especially Crouching Tiger, also dealt with empowerment of women: The women in these films are just as ferocious and independent warriors as their male counterparts and are often the most interesting characters in these films. But this film is not about martial arts athletes, or outsiders, or liberated women. The lead is Gong Li, and she is at the opposite end of the spectrum: The Empress, repressed and confined by her malevolent husband the Emperor, trapped in the Imperial Palace. A gilded cage, but what a cage - this absolutely luscious set, blending together numerous sharp colours, is simply one of the most gorgeously beautiful sets in cinema history. It lives up to the word Golden, with strong golden hues prominent throughout. But aside from the stunning colour palette, this is perhaps the darkest of Zhang's three wuxia films. There is no noble redemption here, it is a relentless tragedy of powerlessness, betrayal, incest (both formal and actual), bitterness, and even incipient madness. Now, I know this film has its critics, but personally? I love it, and after seeing it again I still do.
First, House of Flying Daggers. I still love this movie. I realised early on when first watching this film that it is not really about the titular 'house', a clan of mostly female dagger throwing rebels who are fighting the corrupt Tang dynasty. This film doesn't even have the political subtext of Hero, it is really solely about its characters, the sides they find themselves on is merely the impetus for a drama about lust, betrayal and tragedy of truly operatic proportions. True, the film suffers from a plot whose twists border on the nonsensical and the script was clearly hastily rewritten to eliminate Anita Mui's character (she died shortly before filming and Zhang did not want to recast the character), but the melodrama is truly superb and the choreographed fight scenes and Zhang's characteristic use of strong primary colours remain stunning. The 'echo game' with Zhang Ziyi's character in the Peony Pavilion is utterly beautiful and is the rather early highlight of this film.
Curse of the Golden Flower - This is a decidedly atypical film for the modern wuxia epics, at least those popular in the West. Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhang's earlier films Hero and House of Flying Daggers dealt largely with outsiders, roving athletes quick with a sword. The films, especially Crouching Tiger, also dealt with empowerment of women: The women in these films are just as ferocious and independent warriors as their male counterparts and are often the most interesting characters in these films. But this film is not about martial arts athletes, or outsiders, or liberated women. The lead is Gong Li, and she is at the opposite end of the spectrum: The Empress, repressed and confined by her malevolent husband the Emperor, trapped in the Imperial Palace. A gilded cage, but what a cage - this absolutely luscious set, blending together numerous sharp colours, is simply one of the most gorgeously beautiful sets in cinema history. It lives up to the word Golden, with strong golden hues prominent throughout. But aside from the stunning colour palette, this is perhaps the darkest of Zhang's three wuxia films. There is no noble redemption here, it is a relentless tragedy of powerlessness, betrayal, incest (both formal and actual), bitterness, and even incipient madness. Now, I know this film has its critics, but personally? I love it, and after seeing it again I still do.
I haven't made any updates in here in a while 'cause I'm in the middle of watching a on of different things. I've almost finished seasons 3 of Veronica Mars and House.
