This movie was the latest movie from director Yimou Zhang who also brought us the beautiful House of Flying Daggers and Hero. I own and love Hero so I was expecting a lot from this movie which follows the imperial household ran by Emporer Chow Yun-Fat who is slowly poisoning his wife and The Empress. This sparks family rivalries, coups, and dark secrets all set against the beautiful backdrop of China during the Tang Dynasty.
The screenplay was also co-written by Zhang which just adds to his immense talent. The plot was highly connected and complex. It incorporated each of the characters and was in line with believable actions from each. I’m not sure if any of this was based on fact or not, but it is certainly plausible that this would happen. The plot and subplots in the movie all help to form the tone and message of the movie; power vs. loyalty/family. The message transcends time and culture easily and the plot brings the message to the forefront. The characters are already very well developed, with the exception of the youngest son who plays a pivotal role but has very little screen time or dialogue.
The aspect that made this movie amazing was the set direction and cinematography. I don’t believe anyone would argue that this wasn’t one of the most beautiful movies ever filmed. It’s definitely up to par with Hero for me, but has a different tone and atmosphere to it. This was reportedly the most expensive set ever built in China at the time in 2006, and possibly still is. The sets were just breathtaking. They could’ve just filmed the sets without any plot or dialogue and I would’ve been thoroughly entertained. The Imperial house was amazing and so beautiful. The attention to detail was very noticeable and just commands such high respect. The epic battle scene took 20 days to film and the result is just awesome. The yellow symbolism that is used throughout the movie was brought to the helm in the battle scene and it was just one of a kind. I could write many more paragraphs about the set direction but will keep it to a minimum, or try to. The cinematography was also in keeping with the set direction. Beautiful smooth camera movements were used to mimic the beautiful sets and the choreography was just awesome, as is now common place in Asian films.
Chow Yun-Fat and Li Gong as the Imperial couple really held the story up and gave the best performances of the movie. The rest of the supporting cast also did a great job, except Ye Liu who played the Crown Prince Wan and seemed to be stage acting with exaggerated facial expressions and body movements. The point when he finds out who is lover really is, his reaction is almost laughable. That being said, it didn’t really take anything away from the movie because everything else was done so nicely.
I had seen most of this movie before it was assigned, but I’m glad I was able to watch it again and really take it in. Its just so beautiful that it will transcend to any audience. It is a foreign language film, but it’s not hard to follow. For those who haven’t already seen it, I would recommend to anyone who loves beautifully filmed movies. “What I do not give, you must never take by force” – Curse of the Golden Flower.
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