PREMIER MOVIE REVIEWS - Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (2006)

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Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (Curse of the Golden Flower) (2006)

Genre: Action/Drama

Director: Zhang Yimou

Certificate: Curse of the Golden Flower was rated 15A by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie) i.e. suitable for those of 15A years of age or upwards.  Person under 15 years must be accompanied by an adult.

Violence = strong. Drugs = none. Sex/Nudity = moderate. Language = mild.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Curse of the Golden Flower

  Plot Summary & Review

Gong Li
Gong Li Photo
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Zhang Yimou's visual feast is a tale of a bitter family feud set in the Tang Dynasty that can only be described as an incestuous Godfather - where we see a wife and ex-wife pit their wits against their husband the Emperor, father against son, brother against brother and a love triangle that ties it all up neatly in a bundle.

Visually it's like a luxury box of chocolates as we see layer upon layer of sumptuous colours and scenery unfold with the most dazzling costumes that almost take your breath away, and leaves you feeling more than a little satisfied.

However, for me it's not in the same league as its renowned counterpart Hero.  The first half an hour where the characters and their relationships are introduced is very slow moving and fractious - the middle fares a tad better and the last twenty minutes or so where the main battle takes place has some utterly incredible scenes that certainly get you sitting up in your chair.

Overall the momentum and pace of the whole film didn't quite hit the mark for me, it lacked that quality that Hero and even The House of Flying Daggers had that just left you wanting more.

It's a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, but at the end, despite some strong performances, especially from Gong Li as the Empress (who is stunningly beautiful in this) and Chow Yung Fat as the Emperor, I didn't really feel any sympathy with the characters or their plight.

It's certainly a worthy effort though, and definitely worth a watch if only for the beautiful canvass it presents to the audience, but don't expect a masterpiece as for me it fell  a bit short of similar films of the same genre.

In a word: Entertaining.

Reviewed by Mary Kate, Premier Movie Reviews 2007

Main Cast

Chow Yun-Fat

Gong Li

Jay Chou

Ye Liu

RATING

WORTH A WATCH

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