Today is the fourth time I've watched this film, but it hit me hard today, as if I were watching it for the first time. The suspense, the drama and the tragedy overwhelmed me. It's definitely one of the best films I've ever watched. Ironically, it's not included in the list of my top 100 films that I intend to publish next year. There's a good reason for that. When compiling my list I made a selection of the films that I've rated five stars, but for some reason this film only received four and a half stars last time I watched it. That shows how difficult it is for me to make a Top 100 list. I keep on changing my mind about films, so I need to make a new list every week, even if I don't take new releases into account.
Even the music emphasises the film's character. From the beginning we can feel that there's an atmosphere of doom, even if we aren't consciously aware of it. The greed, the lust and the jealousy of the main characters destroy everyone in the royal family. The golden flowers (chrysanthemums) are stained with blood that can be brushed away, but never forgotten.
The palace's beauty is luscious and exaggerated. It makes the film seem like a surreal dream. It's too beautiful to last. At the time the film was made the palace was the largest film set ever created. I don't know whether the record still stands, but it was an amazing feat. I hope it wasn't wasted by being torn down too soon. It could be used for other films for decades to come.
What a magnificent film! Probably Zhang Yimou's best.
Success Rate: - 0.3
 |
Order from Amazon.com |
| Order from Amazon.co.uk | |
| Order from Amazon.de |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tick the box "Notify me" to receive notification of replies.