AC/AL/SV 2006 110m CHINESE/ ENG. SUB CAST: Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Chen Jin, Ni Dahong, Li Man, Qin Junjie CREDITS: Director: Zhang Yimou; Screenwriters: Zhang Yimou/Wu Nan/Bian Zhihong; Producers: Bill Kong/Zhang Weiping; Director of Photography: Zhao Xiaoding; Production Designer: Huo Tingxiao; Editor: Cheng Long; Costume Designer: Yee Chung Man; Music: Shigeru Umebayashi THE SYNOPSIS The year is 928 A.D. The place is Later Tang Dynasty China. Emperor Ping (Yun-Fat) lords over his family much like the way he does his kingdom: cold, precise and effectively. Married to his younger, second wife Empress Phoenix (Li), Ping has 3 sons: the eldest is Crown Prince Xiang (Yiu)—his ambivalent son from his first marriage; the middle son is warrior Prince Jie (Chou) and the youngest is bratty Prince Cheng (Junjie). The latter 2 boys are Phoenix’s birth sons; thus the strong bond. However, she and Xiang also have a bond of their own: they have been secret lovers for 3 years. This has not escaped the Emperor’s notice either; so in quiet revenge, he’s been having the Empress slowly poisoned for the past year with the clandestine help of Imperial Physician Jiang (Junjie). Wait, the plot thickens yet… Jiang is married to Mrs. Jiang (Jin) and they have a pretty young daughter named Chan (Man). Chan is a courtesan to the Empress and is beholden to Xiang. The Empress learns of this affair and threatens to kill the girl. Mrs. Jiang is a spy who works for the Empress—turns out that she’s also Ping’s first wife—and mother to both Xiang and Chan! Incest!!! Yucko!!!! “Promoting” Dr. Jiang to his own fiefdom in another province, the Imperial Physician and his family are sent to his new palace. Along the way they are attacked by an army of shadowy, ninja-like assassins. Jiang is murdered as his wife and daughter make it back to the Imperial palace. Turns out that Ping sent those men to eliminate the Jiang family. Everything comes to a head on the first night of the Golden Flower Festival, all of the dark secrets spill out. Ping confronts his son Xiang and wife about their illicit affair. Her son Jie commandeers a legion of soldiers to attack the palace and overthrow the Emperor. Jie does so not for the power, but to save his beloved mother from poisoning. Having tried to commit suicide, Xiang confides in his father about the planned coup d’etat. At the celebration, young Prince Cheng suddenly stabs the Crown Prince to death and sets out to attack his own father with the help of his own men! As Jie and thousands of his soldiers storm the palace, Mrs. Jiang and Chan are killed in the melee. Inside, Ping’s assassins kill Cheng’s men and the Emperor beats his youngest son to death. Realizing that his eldest son was his most loyal, Ping becomes seriously enraged. However, being a calculating ruler, Ping has already taken measures to protect himself. Just as Jie and his men breach the outer walls of the inner palace, Pings muti-thousand legions of troops surround them in surprise ambush! Crafty devil, ain’t he?! It becomes a bloodbath as Jie’s men are slaughtered mercilessly. After the battle, he is brought in front of his victorious father and made to repent by feeding more poison to his ailing, conniving mother. Jie takes his own life instead. In the end, the Emperor still reigns and his ailing wife sits next to him on a throne of blood. It is an empty house now—but Ping smiles, as he has defeated all enemies… THE CRITIQUE Whew! The latest epic from esteemed Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou (The House Of Flying Daggers/Hero/To Live/Raise The Red Lantern) plays like a combination of his own Hero (2002) and an episode of TV’s Melrose Place—hell, let’s just call it A Bloody Evening With The Pings… Stocked with an attractive cast of characters—most of which exhibit soild acting pedigree, CURSE is entertaining to watch, yet becomes bogged down by the soap opera machinations (read: screenplay) that spin its bloody wheels. Chow Yun-Fat is always a pleasure to watch; but he might be just a tad too benevolent an actor to pull off the cold, precise cruelty that his character possesses. With a regal manner, yet handsomely-cherubic mug--I was waiting for him to break out into an Elvis-like song and dance about intrigue. Man, that would’ve been a sight... Budding international star Gong Li was director Zhang Yimou’s muse--and from her cunning performance on screen--shall always be. By the way, the two dated for many years back in the 20th century. The rest of the cast is up to par as well. Though not too familiar here in the USA, the rest of the cast are character actors well known in Asia. So this movie marks a real who’s-who in Chinese Cinema. Director Zhang Yimou once again dazzles us with his epic directorial style and detailed cinematic nuances. Yimou’s respect and appreciation of his own culture always shines through, regardless of the material he’s working with. Simply put, he is an auteur of Chinese cinema. Superlative even still is the gorgeous, widescreen-lensing courtesy of fellow Chinese cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding (Oscar©-nominated for his sumptuous lensing of Yimou’s own The House Of Flying Daggers). Whether bathing the cast or even the sets in beautiful, aurum hues and kaleidoscopic lights, Xiaoding’s photography makes this movie. Speaking of mise-en-scene, I loved the horizontally-expansive sets perpetrated by the Oscar©-nominated production designer and Yimou regular Huo Tingxia (The House Of Flying Daggers/Hero) and the equally-opulent costume designs by Yee Chung Man (a highly-lauded artisan in the Chinese movie industry). Other tech credits (editing, score, etc.) are pro across the board. For the record. Yimou and company make awesome use of the historical Chinese locations. In closing, let me just state that the movie’s climactic Act III sells the movie. I almost wished for more kung-fu fighting and less General Hospital-style histrionics--but hey, nothing’s perfect! THE BOTTOM LINE A gorgeous-looking movie teeming with solid actors, beautiful cinematography, lush production design and sparkling costumes--but is yet hampered with a mediocre script that almost insults us with its soap opera-esque machinations. Still, plenty of Chinese flavor in this epic and a rather exciting Act III make this one easy to sit through. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Later_Tang_Dynastyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_Scenehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_designerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costume_designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_scorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filming_locationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_designerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costume_designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21