Curse of the Golden Flower

Directed by Zhang Yimou and screenplay by Yimou, Wu Nan, and Bian Zhihong from a story by Wang Bin, Curse of the Golden Flower is the story of an empress who conspires with her son to lead a revolt against the emperor after learning about the emperor’s desire to get rid of her. The film is an epic set in ancient China that is inspired by Cao Yu’s 1934 play Thunderstorm that explores the dynamic of family and betrayal. Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, and Qin Junjie. Curse of the Golden Flower is a lavish yet exhilarating film from Zhang Yimou.

The film revolves around a royal family in ancient China as it prepares for an annual festival to take place. Yet, there is discord in this family led by Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) as he returns from a military campaign with his son Prince Jai (Jay Chou) while Ping has left specific instructions into treating Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) who has been ill as she has to drink a special medicine. Yet, she becomes suspicious about the medicine’s contents as she believes she is being poisoned while is having an affair with her stepson in Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye) who is the Emperor’s favorite son. Still, the Empress and Prince Jai conspire to stage a coup against the Emperor for his actions that also involves secrets relating to the Imperial Doctor’s family. With everyone conspiring against one another, there is still the young Prince Yu (Qin Junjie) lurking around as he observes all that is happening.

The film’s screenplay explores the dynamic of this very dysfunctional family where everyone has to serve the Emperor yet they’re being mistreated for his own reasons to maintain his role as Emperor. Prince Jai’s discovery of what is happening to his mother becomes his motivation to rebel against his father in secrecy while there is also a lot that is lurking around in the film’s first half. Notably as Crown Prince Wan is having an affair with the Imperial Doctor’s daughter Jiang Chan (Li Man) as she is hoping to have a life outside of the palace. Another character that plays a key part in the film’s first half is the Imperial Doctor’s wife (Chen Jin) who has a grudge towards the Emperor as she helps out the Empress while is one of the few that knows a dark secret that could impact the entire royal family.

While the first half of the script is all about various people planning the coup as well as its motivations. The film’s second half becomes a much more adventurous feature where there’s revelations unveiled as well as the kind of actions that the Emperor is doing. The third act is about this attempted coup on the night an annual festival that is to take place that involves a golden flower that is a symbol of the family’s coat. Yet, it reveals that Emperor’s words about family harmony are really a façade considering the discord that he created in his family.

Zhang Yimou’s direction is definitely extravagant in the way he presents the film as not just an epic but also a family drama with an air of suspense that looms throughout the film. Utilizing lots of stylish tracking shots with some elaborate crane set-ups and stylish action scenes. Yimou creates a film that is about people conspiring against one another as if it’s a game of who can outwit who. Still, it’s a world where it’s all about people serving the royal family where there’s lots of shots that involve many extras who do their duty where Yimou puts a lot of attention to detail of where they should be in the frame and such. While there are still some intimate moments in the framing, it is all about the drama that is unfolding in these lavish settings. The action sequences are presented with a large degree of style as does the film’s climatic coup that involves a horde of extras and some visual effects to establish the vast power of this rebellion. Overall, Yimou creates a very engaging and mesmerizing film about betrayal and dark secrets.

Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding does excellent work with the film’s very colorful photography from the lighting schemes and atmosphere in some of the film’s interior settings to the broad look of the palace hall exteriors as well as some scenes set in night. Editor Cheng Long does brilliant work with the film‘s editing from some stylish jump-cuts in some of the film‘s action scenes to some stylish rhythmic cuts to play out some of its suspense and dramatic moments. Production designer Huo Tingxiao and supervising art director Zhao Bin do spectacular work with the film‘s presentation of the palace interiors that are colorful and full of style along with some scenes in the palace exterior halls to present its extravagance.

Costume designer Yee Chung Man does amazing work with the costumes from the design of the robes as well as the look of the uniforms of the guards as it all plays to that attention to detail that Yimou wanted. Visual effects supervisors Angela Barson and Frankie Chung do terrific work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects for some scenes involving the weapons of the Emperor‘s secret guards as well as some of the scenes in the film‘s climatic battle scene. Sound designer Tao Jing does superb work with the sound from the way swords clang to some of the smaller moments to play out that sense of atmosphere that occurs in the palace. The film’s music by Shigeru Umebayashi is wonderful for its mixture of intricate Chinese string music to play out the drama that is mixed in with some lush string arrangements while it also features some bombastic moments to play out some of its suspense and drama including the film’s climax.

The film’s cast is incredible as it features a terrific small performance from Ni Dahong as the Imperial Doctor who is unaware of all of this conspiracy. Chen Jin is wonderful as the Imperial Doctor’s wife who comes to the palace in secrecy to unveil something for the Empress as it relates to a grudge she has towards the Emperor. Li Man is very good as the Imperial Doctor’s daughter Chan who is in love with Crown Prince Wan as she deals with all of the chaos that surrounding the conspiracies that is going on. Qin Junjie is excellent as the youngest prince of family in Prince Yu as the one person the family seems to overlook as he lurks in the shadows to find out what is happening as he feels neglected by everyone including his brothers. Liu Ye is superb as Crown Prince Wan as a young man conflicted in his feelings for both the Empress and Chan while dealing with the expectations that is set upon by his father.

Jay Chou is great as Prince Jai who learns about what his father has done as he tries to defend his mother’s honor by helping her stage a coup in order to set things right for the family. Gong Li is amazing as Empress Phoenix as a woman who is slowly losing her sanity due to the medicine she’s drinking as she tries to stage a coup against her husband while carrying dark secrets that could shake up the entire royal family. Finally, there’s Chow Yun-Fat in a brilliant performance as Emperor Ping as a man who is very shady in his façade as he presents himself as a man of honor but is really a much darker individual who wants to maintain control of his empire.

Curse of the Golden Flower is a phenomenal film from Zhang Yimou that features superb performances from Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, and Jay Chou. The film is definitely an epic that lives up to its grand visual style while supporting with a strong story of betrayal and discord. It’s also a film that features some of Yimou’s finest moments in terms of creating a visual spectacle that involves lots of extras and a grand battle scene. In the end, Curse of the Golden Flower is a marvelous film from Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou Films: (Red Sorghum) - (Codename Cougar) - (Ju Dou) - (Raise the Red Lantern) - (The Story of Qiu Ju) - (To Live) - (Shanghai Triad) - (Keep Cool) - Not One Less - (The Road Home) - (Happy Times) - (Hero) - House of Flying Daggers - Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles - A Simple Noodle Story - (Under the Hawthorn Tree) - (The Flowers of War) - Coming Home (2014 film) - The Great Wall (2016 film) - (Shadow (2018 film)

© thevoid99 2013

A Simple Noodle Story

Based on the 1984 film Blood Simple by Joel & Ethan Coen, A Simple Noodle Story (internationally known as A Woman, a Gun, & a Noodle Shop) is the story about a tyrannical noodle shop manager whose wife asks her lover to kill her husband only for a crooked cop to be involved in the scheme. Directed by Zhang Yimou with a script by Shi Jianquan and Xue Jianchao, the film is a more comedic and stylish take on the Coen Brothers film as it’s set into a different period in mainland China. Starring Sun Honglei, Ni Dahong, Xiaoshenyang, and Yan Ni. A Simple Noodle Story is a stylish but heavily uneven film from Zhang Ymou.

After purchasing a gun from a traveling Persian merchant (Julien Gaudfroy), Mrs. Wang (Ya Ni) is hoping to have in case something happens as she is already embroiled an affair with noodle shop cook Li (Xiasoshenyang). Mr. Wang (Dahong Ni) is the noodle shop owner who already suspects about his wife’s affair after a corrupt cop named Zhang (Sun Honglei) reveals the information to him. The already abusive Wang decides to confront his wife and Li leading some trouble as he asks Zhang to kill the two with payment in return. Zhang decides to do the job but he would do something that would complicate things as Li is aware something is wrong. Trying to cover things up, Li tries to deal with what happened as Zhang decides to get more of Wang’s money while cleaning things up.

The film is essentially about a noodle shop manager hiring a corrupt cop to kill his wife and her lover only to be later played by the cop. Set in the Gobi desert in a different time period, the film’s re-telling of the Coen Brothers’ tale of infidelity and revenge is one that is intriguing as Zhang Yimou goes for a film that takes that eerie, noir-suspense thriller into something more comical but retain some of the chills of the Coen Brothers film. The only problem is that the screwball comedy approach to the story makes the whole thing uneven. Notably as it includes a subplot involving two employees named Zhao (Cheng Ye) and Chen (Mao Mao) who are both trying to break into their bosses’ vault over owed payments.

It’s a subplot that doesn’t work as it would confuse the viewers into thinking what kind of film is seeing as the script also has issues in its approach to the narrative. Notably in the lack of suspense that occurs in favor of action while there are a few noteworthy moments involving no dialogue as it’s about action and what the characters are doing. For viewers who aren’t familiar with the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple, it’s a plot approach that is confusing while for those have seen the 1984 film. It feels very familiar and the suspense doesn’t really work despite the performances and what Yimou tries to do with the directing of the film.

Yimou’s direction is very stylish as it includes a lot of slanted shots, slow-motion action shots, and other scenes that includes an amazing idea of how noodles are created in the old style. Along with wonderful and gorgeous depth-of-field shots of the Gobi deserts with its hills and roadways, Yimou creates a film that is style over substance but also more intimate as he goes for more exploration into characters and their place in the world. Due to the script’s inability to try and be a genre-bending film about revenge and infidelity. Yimou’s approach to the comedy doesn’t really work as the slapstick feels a bit forced and out of place with the rest of the film. Despite a lot of great moments in the directing including some of the violent moments, Yimou ends up creating a film that does do enough to create an engaging story that its premise would suggest.

Cinematographer Xiaodong Zhao does a fantastic job with the film‘s photography from the lush yet colorful look of the daytime exterior settings along with more eerie shots for the film‘s climatic moments at the interior. The nighttime scenes for its interiors and exteriors are very entrancing its bluish looks including the skylines that is a real highlight of Zhao’s work. Editor Peicong Meng does a nice job with the editing to capture the rhythm of the action scenes including some slow-motion shots to intensify the action of the film.

Visual effects supervisors Phil Jones and Jaing Yanming do excellent work with some of the visual effects moment that occur in the film including the climatic fight towards the end of the film. Sound editor Jing Tao does a terrific job with the sound work from the way the police siren sounds to the way swords and gunfire sound in some of the film’s action moments sound like.

The film’s cast is pretty good though some of the actors are forced to play into the silliness of the script. Among them is Julien Gaudfroy as the Persian trader and Zhao Benshan as the police captain in very small roles while Mao Mao is alright as the more cautious Chen. Cheng Ye is OK as the more conniving Zhao who tries to steal from Wang while sporting two big front teeth that is a bad play on Asian stereotypes. Xiaoshenyang is terrible as the cowardly cook Li who is Mrs. Wang’s lover as he doesn’t really get to do anything but be scared and screw up. Yan Ni is excellent as the more willing Mrs. Wang who is trying to divorce her husband while getting a gun in order to defend herself in case anything happens.

Ni Dahong is very good as the vile Mr. Wang who seeks revenge against his wife as there’s a he brings a dark, comical approach to his character while being very despicable. Finally, there’s Sun Honglei who gives the best performance of the film as the smart and cunning Zhang. Honglei doesn’t get to have a lot of lines but always maintain a quiet yet eerie presence whenever he’s around while being the one villain who is always there to make sure he’s doing things the right way as it’s a truly marvelous performance.

A Simple Noodle Story is a decent but very messy film from Zhang Yimou. Despite some stylish scenery, fantastic action sequences, and a brooding performance from Sun Honglei, it’s a film that tries too hard to be two different genres while not doing enough to create a very interesting story. It’s among one of Yimou’s weaker films despite his attempt to re-tell the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple into a different setting and period. In the end, A Simple Noodle Story is an underwhelming remake of Blood Simple that lacks the engaging suspense of the Coen Brothers classic.

Zhang Yimou Films: (Red Sorghum) - (Codename Cougar) - (Ju Dou) - (Raise the Red Lantern) - (The Story of Qiu Ju) - (To Live) - (Shanghai Triad) - (Keep Cool) - Not One Less - (The Road Home) - (Happy Times) - (Hero (2002 film)) - House of Flying Daggers - Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles - Curse of the Golden Flower - (Under the Hawthorn Tree) - (The Flowers of War) - Coming Home (2014 film) - The Great Wall (2016 film) - (Shadow (2018 film)

Blood Simple

© thevoid99 2012