Blog Archives

Ashes of Time (1994)

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Posted on June 17, 2007 by John Snadden

As I see it, there have only been two rolled gold masterpieces of the Cantonese cinema since the late 1980s: John Woo’s bloodstained Vietnam odyssey Bullet in the Head and Wong Ka-Wai’s Ashes of Time. Both were produced within three years of each other and are poles apart in content and style, but they remain shining examples of a film industry at its peak.

Ashes of Time is based on a popular Chinese martial arts novel The Eagle Shooting … (read more)

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Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

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Posted on April 22, 2007 by John Snadden

The new Chinese drama Curse of the Golden Flower is a welcome return to form by director Zhang Yimou, and further proof that major Chinese stars Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat do their best work on home ground.

In the past fifteen years Zhang has gone from being the bad boy of Chinese cinema (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern) to the acceptable face of a cultured China with international hits like Hero and House of Flying … (read more)

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Together (2003)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Eugene

Let’s set some things straight. Yes I have some Chinese ancestry (quite a lot of it actually) which does mean, yes I did have Chinese immigrant parents. However, that does not automatically lead to me having studied any kind of instrument, in particular (rather aptly) the violin. If anything, my musical talent totals to a few shrill notes on the recorder and drunken bouts in karoake bars – both of which the less said the better.

That does not mean, … (read more)

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Springtime in a Small Town (2002)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Eugene

There is a certain restraint that seems common to Chinese cinema. Where characters live at an emotional detachment with each other and passions are inhibited for the sake of duty and respectability. It is this suppression that means that not everyone lives happily ever after and sometimes an ending and a resolution are enough.

This certainly holds true for Springtime in a Small Town. Basically a remake of a favourite post-war Chinese film, Springtime follows a man who returns … (read more)

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Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Justin

Zhang Yimou has emerged in recent times as one of Mainland China’s best known directors, having directed the recent international successes Hero (remember, it’s Quentin Tarantino Presents Jet Li’s Hero for us!) and House of Flying Daggers. His films have been very successful on the film festival and arthouse circuit for a long time, however, and I’ve managed somehow to never see any of them.

So, when World Movies presented this as one of their 25 Films You Should … (read more)

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House of Flying Daggers (2004)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Eugene

I have to admit that when I first saw House of Flying Daggers, I felt somewhat ambivalent about it. I had somewhat decent expectations for the film since it was a Zhang Yimou film, the man who brought us Hero, and had a solid enough cast of Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Zhang Ziyi. Yet, while the performances were strong and set pieces impressive, the story was lacking and a great deal of the fighting lacked a certain … (read more)

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Hero (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Eugene

Well it’s been about two years since I first saw Zhang Yimou’s Hero and, at long last, I am getting around to writing a review. Sure this has to do with finally seeing it on the movie screen and it finally receiving a general release but my point is that I am in no way vain-glorious enough to believe that whatever audience this may very well reach is in anyway exclusive to HC and it is likely that that those … (read more)

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Happy Times (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

Has anyone noticed leading actresses in Zhang Yi Mou’s films have been getting younger and younger?!

OK, small digression — let’s get back to Happy Times. When I think back to Zhang Yi Mou films, the word that I invariably end up using to describe his work is “intense” — the experience for the audience, the film itself, the landscape, the music — unforgettable. His older films had a lot of urgency, tension, you could feel the blood, sweat … (read more)

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