Curse Of The Golden Flower

Zhang Yimou's new film reportedly cost a whooping $45 million to make and boasts itself as the most expensive Chinese film to date,and the excessive amount spent shows vividly on the lavish and elaborate sets,intricate costumes and overall look of the film.The cinematography is slick and appropriately paced,fast and slightly shaky shots portraying intensity and minute-long close-ups carefully building on suspense-to top it all off,COTGF has some of the best action scenes i've ever seen.All the characters are vile,toxic and unsympathetic-what seemingly begins as a family tied close by traditions and culture (both of which places respect & loyalty at its core),they are torn apart by personal vengeance's and horrible revelations that ultimately result in distrust and bloodshed.The best thing about the film is that despite its massive budget and complex plot (a formula that requires exceptional talent and precision to be properly executed),it doesn't trip over its genius or try too hard to tell the story-the lines are mostly short and sharp,not condescending to provide insufferable,overbearing moral teachings or try to clarify the obvious (although few parts of the script are written in a way that the characters seem to be talking to the audience instead of themselves-lines perhaps suitable for a narrating voice)-and both Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li are simply outstanding in their respective roles,but the film is not without its flaws.Momentum is lost at times when the film awkwardly skips from one conflict to another,some of the violence seems too calculated and unreal (the kind prominent in J-horror flicks),at times things are inserted merely for cheap shock value and do nothing to bring the story forward,and too much cleavage is shown for the film to be taken seriously at times.Gong Li is often seen facing a serious,disheartening matter that is undoubtedly very sad and she is crying profusely,being the hysterical psychobitch she's supposed to be-but it's hard to concentrate with her boobs looking like they're going to explode any moment out of that tiny dress.However,the cost of a movie ticket would relatively be a small price to pay for this movie's greatness-it is,in one word,breathtaking,because the extravagant sets and costumes alone simply induce awe and amazement,and the story is a very solid one despite having its inconsistencies.