Curse of the Golden Flower

The Curse of the Golden Flower is Zhang Yimou's latest, an epic that takes place in 10th century China. Ping (Chow Yun-Fat), has risen from being captain to Emperor, and married the princess Liang (Gong Li), now the Empress Phoenix. Her beauty has now been overtaken by her erratic moods; Emperor Ping had ordered her to take medication. Little does she know that an ingredient has been added to the formula, a poisonous herbal extract, and now it is slowly killing her. Phoenix has suspicions, but there is no proof. She is busy having an affair with Ping's son, the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye) from a previous marriage. Wan in turn is in love with the royal physician's daughter, Jiang Chan, and spurns the Empress' advances. Prince Jai is the second son, behind Wan in succession, who leads the troops at the nation's borders, is called back by the Emperor for the Chrysanthemum Festival. But not before a bit of manly one upsmanship by the Emperor, who with his skilled swordplay reminds his son who is boss. Back at the palace, Phoenix is preparing for the festival, making lots and lots of embroidered scarves with the chrysanthemum sewn into it. Wan discovers that she is plotting an attack against her husband, as she knows that she is being driven insane by the medicine. A lady ninja had informed her, and she had a double mission: she was also the Emperor's first wife, who managed to escape execution, and disappeared 25 years ago. She later married the Court Physician, and bore a daughter, Chan. The incestuous implications of their relationship drives them apart, and Chan and her mother are later killed in a hail of arrows. Wan, caught between both the domineering father and the scheming mother, is eventually killed by Jai, who decides to take matters into his own hands. Soldiers loyal to each side fight in a brutal battle at the castle, where thousands are killed. Jai, ordered by his father to kill Phoenix, ends up killing himself instead. Phoenix finally goes insane, and the banquet table is covered in the family's blood.

Visually stunning, the yellows, greens and reds overwhelm the film. Like a baroque painting, the great attention paid to detail deflects attention paid to the characters and the story. Like House of the Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower has moments of brilliance, but lack any sense of coherence. There is no real depth to the characters, and the court intrigue lacks tension as the dominoes start to fall. The soap opera plot twists only annoy, rather than add to the story. Too many ideas, not enough focus. Gong Li is outstanding; she really is at her best when working with her old director, this being her first in over a decade. But her efforts are lost on a fellow cast that fumbles, including Chow Yun-Fat, which is sad to see. He still has a charismatic presence, but little to work with except being regal. Everyone else seems out of place as soap opera characters in a epic film. Surprisingly, the CGI is horrible -- this being one of the most expensive films made in China. The battle scenes at the end are laughable, and the superimposition of the characters over a color background feels cheap. The ending is as much a question mark as it is a sigh of relief. I no longer knew what was happening, nor did I care. A time waster.