Curse of the Golden Flower

what i love about time magazine is that when it comes to asian cinema, they are always in the know, production companies are still finalizing the casting, time magazine has already published an in depth look...

so when my tito stopped our subscription, i got lost, and was shocked, that Zhang Yimou, one of my favorite directors was releasing another movie.

The title of the movie is Curse of the Golden Flower, and after Hero, Zhang's movie have become bigger and bigger... but not necessarily better...


i saw a pirated DVD of Curse, they said it already a good copy, but. knowing Zhang Yimou, it is not right, almost a sin to see a Zhang Yimous Movie in a small screen...

and he casted Chow Yun Fat, and Gong Li no less... this movie has to be seen in a cinema...

so i did, with doms and ayka... and it was worth the 132 pesos i paid, and yest it was suppose to be a de luxe, but we went to premiere when no one was manning the stairs...

Curse of the Golden flower is about an empress who has an affair with his step son, and being poisoned by her husband the emperor, of Tang Dynasty... they have three children, and Jay Chou, (Ayka infromed me, that he is an R & B star) is the strongest... and the favorite of the empress... if you think the fanily is dysfunctional, wait until the final 30 minutes of the movie, you'll be so shocked it's already funny...

as so its story, HERO is yet still the best, (i only compared it with the period movie of Zhang Yimou, Road Home excluded) but this is better than House of Flying Dagger...

this is nominated in the Oscars for Best Costume, hoping it will win over "devils wear prada"

as to its acting, Gong Li, as usual is Phenomenal, to me... if you can cast Gong Li, then you already have a good movie, and when you see how Gong Li Protrayed the empress, you'll go "who the hell is Zhang Ziyi?" and i saw something, i never saw in a zhang yimou movie before, breasts, cleavage everywhere... and zhang yimou, i thank you...

What i like most about Zhang Yimou is how he connects philosophy into every movie he does... lets just say it is not you Mano Po movie... Chines Culture is so embedded into the psyche of Zhang, that although it is cultural and history lesson, you hardly feel anything but visual delight almost in ecstacy... he does this into his every movie, how the characters would try to explain everything in the beggining, at first you get it, and at the end of the movie, you understand... you know, it sticks with you... it is not hard selling... and yet so effective it hurts...

Cinematography is yet his best weapon, and he can win any year, hands down... his director of photography has never been nominated, but is deserving of an award every movie...

but most of all, what i like about Zhang Yimou is his attention to details... the lighting, the shots, the acting, the costume, the art direction, the colors, the effects, he know what he is doing, and i would like to think he is a tyrant on a set, because if he is not, then i dont know how he accomplishes things...

to see a zhang yimou a movie is such a delight, de-light... it is so easy to get lost in his movies... that somehow, when the movements gets slow, it's as if you follow... you move... you float... a zhang yimou movie is always, to me, a cinematic magic...