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Curse of the golden flower - Historical film from Zhang Yimou
By Tamiko
So this film broke box office records in China, it is one of the most expensive Chinese films to date, it stars Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li, there's lots of heaving cleavage (kinda odd for a Chinese film?) and action, and it was directed by venerated director Zhang Yimou (Hero). Great combination, mix it all up, and you get Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia), also known literally as The City of Golden Armor, a Chinese historical drama film, with special effects, colorful costumes, and fight scenes that may rival the videogames...almost. Anyways, go watch it when it comes out on the 22nd!
Set in 10th century China (the Later Tang Dynasty to you history buffs) the story centers on an emperor (Chow) and empress (Gong) and palace intrigues with tons of deceit, betrayal, manipulation, rebellion, murder, and, um, incest. Oooh kay. Expect soaring music from Shigeru Umebayashi (In the Mood for Love, Hero), and choreographed action by Tony Ching Siu Tung (Shaolin Soccer, A Better Tomorrow 2)
Looks a bit like Zhimou's last efforts, namely Hero and House of Flying Daggers, this one is based on a 1934 play named Thunderstorm by Cao Yu, the film showcases the royal princes: Prince Jai (Jay Chou) returns home to see the Empress obsessively embroidering golden chrysanthemums. Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye) sneaks around with Chen (Li Man), the daughter of the Imperial Physician. And the youngest brother, Prince Yu (in Junjie) merely craves attention from his father.
More:
Official website with photos, cast, info, and trailers @ www.sonyclassics.com/curseofthegoldenflower.
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Comments
-Curse of the Cultural Melting Pot-
I am a woman.
I am Mainland Chinese Canadian.
I will keep my viewpoint shortn' sharp:
Don't be fooled by the hyper-aesthetic facades and faces that has no roots in Chinese history. The sexualization of the Tang dynasty in this film demeans the historical high point in Chinese civilization. Of all of Chinese history, The Tang period was considered the golden age of Chinese literature, art and innovation.
I was born in Xian, the ancient capital of China during the Tang Dynasty. So, to me, I am afraid that this extremely visually stunning, "wonderbra" film will give western audience a totally distorted and erotic impression of Chinese history.
I am a woman.
I am Mainland Chinese Canadian
I am Angry; Disappointed; Offended.
Are you?
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About this post
Posted by TamikoDecember 22, 2006 at 1:31 AM
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