Der Fluch der goldenen Blume (2006)

Der Fluch der goldenen Blume: Directed by Yimou Zhang. With Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Ye Liu. During China’s Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

“Despite the millions of chrysanthemum flowers, ten thousand soldiers and three prominent male cast (Chow Yun Fatt, Jay Chou and Liu Ye), one thing will capture your attention. Make that two.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGong Li and her titillating assets have almost overshadowed everything else in the movie. While it may not be historically accurate for 10th Century Tang Dynasty palace females to dress so scantily, director Zhang Yimou obviously wants to make a stylistic statement right from the opening scene.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHis play with colours was apparent from Hero. Curse of the Golden Flowers presents a kaleidoscope in its grandeur palace setting and elaborate costumes. The final fighting scene lead by Prince Jai (Jay Chou playing Jay?) the prince with golden armored warriors trampling over chrysanthemum is nothing short of impressive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJay Chou had a difficult time playing Prince Jai, which required more complexity than a cool rider in Initial D. While emotional scenes with Gong Li drew some laughter from the audience, his final scene was noteworthy and articulation has improved.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKudos goes to Chow Yun Fatt and Gong Li. Chow has improved on his accent tremendously (which was very strange in Crouching Tiger) and portrayed the Emperor with magnitude and hysterical outrage. Look out for the scene as the usually mild mannered Chow punishes his son with both rising temper and hair.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the film obviously banks on Gong Liu0026#39;s bosoms, they shouldnu0026#39;t distract audience from her exceptional acting. It may be over-the-top at times, but she shows that nobody else can play this vengeful and solitary empress better than her. At this moment, she is the queen of the Chinese cinema.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story of betrayal, illicit affairs, chilled relations and dysfunctional families may be run on the mill and overdone. Drawing parallels with The Banquet by Zhang Ziyi is inevitable. Both are about an obsessed empress who craves for a relationship with the prince (Interestingly, both well-known for playing gay roles) and demands for more power from the emperor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCurse of the Golden Flower is not just soap drama but a period epic to impress with colours, opulence and sheer indulgence.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ehttp://themovieclub.blogspot.com”