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Review

film reel graphicReview Date: 14-January-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

If you're the kind of person who likes Shakespearean tragedy, have I got the movie for you. Or if you like your entertainment less classy and more brassy — say, along the lines of "Dynasty" — I've got the movie for you too. They're one and the same movie, in fact: Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower." This is one of those sagas where everybody operates at the highest pitch of emotion in dealing with family and power, and everything goes to hell at the end.

At the center of the maelstrom is a Chinese emperor in the 10th century (Chow Yun Fat) who's getting on in years and starting to think about the past and future. One step he has taken towards middle-age comfort is the slow poisoning of his wife (Gong Li), whom he is attempting to drive insane with a Persian mushroom. The empress herself is no slouch in the palace-intrigue department, having spent the last three years bedding her stepson the crown prince (Liu Ye). On the eve of the Chrysanthemum Festival, she also convinces the eldest of her own sons (Jay Chou) to join her in a coup. Her plot involves embroidering several thousand flowers and unveiling the secret of the imperial doctor's wife (Chen Jin) and beautiful daughter (Li Man). Parental fondness or raging narcissism motivates the royal couple to try and keep their youngest son (Qin Junjie) out of the mess, but that works about as well as the rest of it. Suffice to say that the festival ends up being less than festive.

Or does it? From the characters' standpoint everything is drama and death, but from a theater seat the view is much more pleasant. That's because "Curse of the Golden Flower" is a visual banquet. The grandeur of the palace, the fanfare of its rituals, and the exquisite costumes of its inhabitants engage the eye like a torte engages the appetite. (It should be noted that the few requisite fight scenes aren't so grand.) The people in this tale live absurdly overblown lives, but the excess doesn't cloy when it comes to their personal effects. Consequently, while non-admirers of Shakespearean tragedy like me may not really like the film, watching it may be somewhat rewarding.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.

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