Movies

Curse of the Golden Flower Review

Set in the age of the Tang Dynasty, Curse of the Golden Flower is a spectacular film. The scenes are elaborate, the colours striking and the acting very good.

Just prior to the Chrysanthemum Festival, the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat)returns to the capital, with his 2^nd eldest son (who just served a three year tour on the frontier). Meanwhile, the Empress (Gong Li) has had an affair with the Crown Prince (her stepson). The Emperor is aware something is wrong and has the Imperial Doctor concoct a potion to slowly poison the Empress. Meanwhile, mysterious assassins prowl the land and events are set in motion for a civil war. The only question is who is ultimately behind the uprising.

The only real problem with the film is that it is very slow to get going. The first half of the movie is mostly court intrigue, most of which is slow to develop. The last half hour is filled with action and elaborate battle scenes, rivaling those in Gladiator or Braveheart, with hundreds of extras and detailed costumes. Filmed in Mandarin, this film is also subtitled, so if you don�t care for them, you might want to wait until it is released on DVD with an English audio track (personally, I don�t care but I do know some people do).