Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (R) ★★★

Even if you can't decipher all the politics, there are plenty of thrilling sequences to make Curse of the Golden Flower rock.

Story

Near the end of the Tang Dynasty in 10th century China, things are not well between the Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat) and his Empress (Gong Li). She serves more as an arm piece to him and begins to suspect that he is poisoning her to keep her subservient. The Emperor brings his son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou) to the palace, and Jai is concerned for the Empress's health. She also seems to have some sort of hold on her stepson, Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), who just wants to run away with the palace doctor's daughter, Chan (Li Man). With all the scheming and ulterior motives going back and forth, it all hits the fan when the Emperor's convoy is attacked by assassins. From here, secrets come to light through death and battle as the assassins force both sides' hands. The family relations and dynasty lore may be too complicated to understand in one viewing, but that is often the case with these kinds of historical epics, especially in a foreign language. Still, the elements are beautiful to watch, and once it becomes a war movie, the threat of boredom is lifted.

Acting

Curse of the Golden Flower offers traditional epic performances. Gong Li’s Empress may be bitter in servitude, angry in conspiracy or pained with tragedy, but it's all big dramatics. Few can do it better than Gong. The lavish, emotional material is her forte, and this is another tragic epic in which she can shine. Chow Yun-Fat does his stoic thing. What makes him the ultimate badass action hero also suits him well as a plotting monarch. Some range of issues face his character, but he greets them with a strong, even-keeled temper, only breaking down in pivotal moments. The assassins serve as a singular character, too. They move so gracefully as a single unit, you don't even need to see who's under the masks to get the personality of this unstoppable killing machine. Other characters just serve as pawns in the plot. There's the whiny, sissy son and lovelorn kids, all convincing as they serve their purposes in Gong and Chow's chess game.

Direction

Curse of the Golden Flower seems to be a culmination of all of director Zhang Yimou's work. It includes period drama with epic, tragic themes, and even more newfangled martial arts action since his last effort, Hero. He also uses color schemes to reflect emotion. Superficial gold barely masks the palace corruption and forest greens welcome in the change brought by the assassins. Golden Flower does seems a tad melodramatic. But the Chinese language is based on subtle sound differences, and going over the top may be the only way to convey it. It certainly works for a political intrigue family drama. The best parts of the film are the assassin attacks, big but full of nuance. The dark figures flow gracefully through the scenes, seeming to defy gravity but not in a Crouching Tiger sort of way. Their acrobatic antics are based on some level of physics, at least as the film establishes the group. It's never just clanking swords, there's always some careful tactics to enjoy. Combining so many aspects masterfully, Curse of the Golden Flower could be Zhang's masterwork.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.