Curse of the Golden Flower

	Hong Kong, China 2006 Director: Zhang Yimou Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Liu Ye, Jay Chou, Qin Junjie, Ni Dahong, Chen Jin, Li Man Rating: R Language: Mandarin Release Date: 21 December 2006 Running Time: 1 hour 54 minutes The Movie Review		Curse of the Golden Flower -aka- Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia Storyline: Cast: Ending: Overall:
	Curse of the Golden Flower is an in-depth look into the life of the imperial family. I've heard about the movie and noticed how viewers were let down because the lack of action and because the use of extravagant and grandiose clothing and/or location set which makes nothing but eye candy. But I found it actually highly entertaining, if not also educating. No no no, actually the story, the movie, the premise and the execution is splendid! Set in the time of Tang Dynasty in year 928, the movie centers on the life of the royal family mainly on the Empress Phoenix (Gong Li). At the first look, her life may be the source of enviness by all women in her time, she has everything, hundreds and maybe thousands of servants, unmatched beauty of her line of clothings and having nothing to do except making broidery. But in fact she leads a miserable life. Continuosuly being poisoned by her closed one and secretly having an affair with her step son, Prince Wan (Liu Ye), is something she has to deal with. Ironically she knows she's being poisoned but being obedience she swallows her 'medicine' time after time although in the end she refuses to go down without a fight. And on the big night of Chrysanthemum Festival, with the help of her own son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou), she will do something about her fate and the fate of the people who have wronged her. What will happen in this magnificent palace? Dear readers, if you do like an intriguing storyline ornamented with all the luxury of life, please give this movie a chance. What I have told you on the above paragraph surely doesn't cover everything exciting or shocking as it would be a sure spoiler. But this China historical film will deliver you much more intricacy among the royal family and the people closed to them. It would not be something ordinary. The movie plays heavily in the drama field, and thankfully almost all the cast deliver excellent performances. Especially Liu Ye, he steals the spotlight everytime he's on screen. Gong Li's character might seen the biggest role in the story, but it is the Liu Ye's character, expression and life story that makes everything more dramatic. And if that's not enough, there are many aspects of this Epic film that would make the audience awe-struck. I myself was a big fan of Chinese imperial history as well as the coloruful stories of the life of all the eunuches and servants and also the concubines. So seeing something like this is a treat for my memory. Although what you'll see from this movie is only the tip of the iceberg of shocking and awesome life of the royal family of ancient China. And by the by there is one thing that I'm sure most male viewers would remember, it's the cleavage fiesta. I've read many things about China history but it came to me as a surprise seeing all the women in this movie are showing their cleavage just like in some kind of push-up bra advertisment, I guess I missed something :-) The movie does come with its own considerably-trivial-compared-to-the-story flaw. It is very noticable the use of fake looking CGI on the palace. I guess all the budget must've been gone to casting and clothing department then. According to IMDb Trivia section, the movie took over 20 days to shoot the battle scene in which it also employed more than 1,000 real soldiers in the final battle, the filmmakers has also built the largest set for a movie in China. And furthermore, according to Wikipedia, Curse of the Golden Flower was the most expensive Chinese Film at the time of its release. But don't be worry and don't hold your intention to see the movie because this movie here my friend has got some awesome finishing touches! Both from the shocking drama side and from the epic battle that is seemingly coming out of Sun Tzu or Zhuge Liang books of war strategy! Mm-hm a very excellent ending indeed. So even though I give you the trailer below, please do not watch it, because the trailer really gives away all the good parts and all the twists. Nuff said, Curse of the Golden Flower is definitely a keeper. Something that all western viewers should be awe about instead of the run-of-the-mill/so-so-oh-it's-so-not-special Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000). Get a hold of Curse of the Golden Flower!! © iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com posted: Friday, 1 July 2011 11:37 pm

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