The Postman Fights Back (4 Stars)

No, this isn't the remake of a Kevin Costner film. It's a Hong Kong film made by Ronny Yu in 1982. Interestingly, the special effects look better than in "The Bride With The White Hair", which he made eleven years later.

It's not clear to me when the film takes place, but another reviewer says it's 1913. I don't know where he gets that from, but it makes sense, based on the technology we see in the film. Most of the action is with sword fights and kung fu, but in some scenes there are modern looking firearms.

Ma is a postman. He carries letters between villages. He isn't actually paid for his work. When he arrives in a village a collection is made among the people who are happy to receive mail. He's warned by his relatives that a new railroad is being built and he'll soon be unneeded.

He's asked to deliver four cases to a general in the north. At first he refuses, saying that he only delivers letters, but the pay is so much that he can't turn it down. He wants to do the delivery with two friends, but a fourth man that he hardly knows is added to the group. It's said that he knows the bandits on the road, so he'll be a good addition to the group. At first the extra man, Fu Jun, is an outsider in the group, but he soon makes friends with the others.

So they set off. They're forbidden to open the cases, however curious they are about the contents. On the way they're frequently attacked by bandits. Is it worth the money? To add to the problems, two women attach themselves to the group. One is a woman from Ma's village who wants to go to Shanghai to buy her sister back from slavery. Another is a woman who they rescue from bandits on the way.

The film is good, though confusing. I suspect I'd enjoy it more if I knew the historical background. What was happening in China in 1913? I have no idea. But one thing that disturbs me is that the film has so much smoking. The postman and his three companions are constantly puffing at cigarettes. Don't they get out of breath when they're fighting?

Another problem is that the film is uneven. For the first half hour Ma, the postman, is the main character, but as it continues Fu Jun has more screen time.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

Could this be one of the greatest love stories ever told? Maybe. For those of us who consider ourselves in any way spiritual or religious, it asks serious questions. What's more important? Spirituality or love? Putting the question in a more western setting, is it better to go to Heaven or to love someone? Assuming the two are alternatives. It sounds very awkward when I see the words in front of myself, so I hope you'll understand me. Those who've seen the film will know what I'm talking about.

The Beatles sang that "All you need is love". That seems obvious in theory, but how many people live by that slogan in practice? As you get older other things become more important, such as money, power and fame. Mostly money. It's intuitively obvious that money shouldn't be more important than love, but what about religion? Should my religion be more important than love?

There are so many distractions today. Technology, Internet, entertainment in general. Jen and Lo (whose names vary depending on how they're anglicised) are surrounded by mountains and just have one another. That's a beautiful life. Maybe I could have lived like that when I was younger. Now that I'm older I've been corrupted by the Internet. If I were alone with a woman in the mountains I'd soon yearn for the Internet and my film collection, however much I love her.

I hope my readers don't find my thoughts too crazy. Try to understand me. Tell me what you think.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

My local cinema has a regular "Best Of Cinema" feature. On the first Tuesday of every month a classic film is shown. In most cases they're films that I know well and would like to see on the big screen. Today the film was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". It was shown in the original Chinese version with German subtitles. Perfect!

Usually I praise the Germans for their good taste in films. I have to take it back. Today there were only four people in the cinema to see this magnificent film. I complained to the man sitting a few seats from me, and he agreed that the cinema should have been full. Interestingly, all four of us were sitting alone. I always respect people who go to the cinema by themselves, because by going to a cinema by yourself proves you're a serious film fan.

It's the second time I've seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in the cinema. I saw it in 2000 when it was new. It overwhelmed me then, and it still overwhelms me now. The only thing that's different is that after watching it a few times I have more of a feeling for the film's deep spirituality. Alongside "The Life of Pi", it's one of the two most spiritual films I know. The two films have something in common: they were both directed by Ang Lee. Not all his films are spiritual. Or maybe they are. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention to the minor details.

The film isn't just a spiritual film, it's a love story. To be more accurate, it tells two love stories. Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien love one another deeply, but they feel bound by honour not to reveal their feelings. Shu Lien was engaged to Li's best friend before his death, and they feel that starting a relationship would be betraying him. The performance of both actors, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, is outstanding. It's (relatively) easy to show the emotion of love on screen, but it takes skill to show that a person feels love that he doesn't want to show, but he's showing it anyway. I hope you understand what I mean, because it's difficult to put it into words.

The other love story involves the 18-year-old noblewoman Yu Ziao Long. Her father, Governor Yu, wants her to marry a rich diplomat, but she's a free spirit who wants a life of adventure. She finds the lives of Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien fascinating, and she also wants to become a roaming swordfighter. By chance she meets a bandit called Dark Cloud and falls in love with him. Her parents would never accept him. The step she takes for them to be together is at the same time romantic and tragic. Is the film's ending a happy ending or a tragedy? It's not easy to decide.

It's natural to compare "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with the films of Zhang Yimou. They have a similar style, but they're visually different. Zhang Yimou's films are bright and colourful, whereas "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has subdued colours. The lighting isn't as bright. It's as if Zhang Yimou wants to fool the viewer into expecting a happy ending, whereas Ang Lee leaves the viewer in no doubt that true love is destined to end in tragedy.

It was a mistake for me to omit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from my top 100 films list. I've corrected that mistake today, but I'm sad that I had to knock another wonderful film out of the list to make room.

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Curse of the Golden Flower (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #19

This is one of the most beautiful films ever made, but it has a different style to "House of Flying Daggers", made by Zhang Yimou two years earlier. The atmosphere in "Curse of the Golden Flower" is much more intense and foreboding. It's obvious from the opening scenes that only bad can come.

Ping is the Emperor of a large dynasty. (In the original Chinese he's only called a king, but I'll keep to the English translation). The film takes place in the Tang Dynasty, some time between 618 AD and 907 AD. He used to be a lowly captain, but he rose to the level of Emperor after marrying the daughter of the King of Liang. He has three sons: Wan, Jai and Yu. Wan was born to his first wife, Jai and Yu to his present wife. Jai is his official heir, but Wan is his favourite son.

The palace is run efficiently, presenting a perfect harmony to the world, but the Emperor's family is far from perfect. The Empress is having an affair with her step-son, Wan. The Emperor knows about it, so he's arranged for poison to be mixed in with her regular medication for anaemia. After the Empress's death he intends to make Wan his heir.

Years ago the Emperor, while still a captain, exiled his first wife so that he could marry the daughter of the King of Liang. He expected her to die, but she married the Emperor's chief physician. He doesn't know she's still alive, because she lives in a house outside of the palace. Her daughter is a servant of the Empress, and Wan has fallen in love with her, not realising that she's his sister.

It's difficult for me to write about this film without giving away too much. All I can say is that it's an epic in the true sense of the word. There are only a few action scenes, but they're exquisitely filmed. The suspense and the emotional content are in perfect balance. The palace shown in the film is the biggest film set ever built. Over 4,000 extras were used. It's a film that has to be seen to be believed.

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Curse of the Golden Flower (5 Stars)

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.

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From Vegas to Macau 3 (4 Stars)

What did I just see? This is probably the most insane film I've ever seen. It's not the sort of madness that you find in Japanese films such as the ones made by Sion Sono. That's madness that makes sense. "From Vegas to Macau 3" contains random elements that make no sense at all. I'll do my best to describe the film, but I fear I might have misunderstood things in the general chaos.

Ko Chun is known as the God of Gamblers. The film begins with the wedding of his only daughter. This breaks his heart, because his daughter is the only person he truly loves. (I assume his wife was killed in one of the previous films). His best friend Ken hypnotises him to believe that it's his cousine getting married instead. Now Ko is happy, but it confuses people when he talks about his cousine's marriage at the reception. Unfortunately the wedding turns into a tragedy. A walking bomb disguised as a wedding guest explodes, killing the bride and driving Ko temporarily insane.

Ko is invited to the birthday party of an arms dealer called J.C. who is suspected of being responsible for the bomb. He is in no state to go to the party, so Ken uses a universal transformer to make himself look like Ko and go to the party in his place. Casino games with stakes as high as $300 million are being played at the party. Ken is unable to gamble as skilfully as Ko, but he hypnotises everyone to see the cards and dice that he wants them to see.

We soon find out the reason for J.C. killing Ko's daughter. In the previous film J.C.'s lover Molly fell out of a plane, for which he blames Ko. Molly is being held alive in a large tank full of fluid. J.C. intends to use his party as an opportunity to kill Ko, not realising that it's really Ken.

That summary might not sound overly crazy, but there are so many random things happening. There are robots who fall in love with one another. There is kung fu fighting. There are cream pie fights. There are dinosaurs. One man has to fight eight identical clones of himself. A high security prison is attacked by a paramilitary force. Every now and then everyone stops fighting and breaks into song, as if this were a Bollywood film.

The film is confusing, but it's very good. Now I want to see the first two parts.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

In my last review of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" I wrote that "the mix of action, drama, romance and beautiful cinematography makes it an all time classic". That's true, but I forgot something. The film also has a deep spirituality. It's not a dogmatic spirituality. In the opening scene Li Mu Bai arrives after spending a period of deep meditation in the Wudang temple and speaks these words:

"During my meditation I came to a place of deep silence. I was surrounded by light. Time and space disappeared. I felt I had come to a place my master had never told me about".

He denies that this was enlightenment, and continues:

"I didn't feel the bliss one should feel when enlightened. Instead, I was surrounded by an endless sorrow".

Why was this? We're given a clue, though I wouldn't be bold enough to call it a definitive answer, shortly before his death. Shu Lien encourages Li Mu Bai to meditate with his last breath, but he refuses. He claims he has wasted all his life, and instead of this he uses his last breath to tell Shu Lien that he loves her.

Does this mean that love is more important than meditation? That's a tough question to give a one-word answer to. A tough question for those of us who think spiritually, that is. For a shallow person the answer is an easy Yes. Maybe the shallow ones are right. Even a fool can sometimes make the right decision. I prefer to leave the question unanswered. In the context of the film, I see the answer elsewhere. Li Mu Bai's problem was that he meditated for the wrong reasons. Amongst other reasons, a person should meditate to find himself. Li Mu Bai meditated to escape the truth about himself that he already knew. He had known that he loved Shu Lien for many years, and he used meditation as a means to flee from this love. It could even be argued that the place he reached in his deep meditation really was enlightenment. It was revealed to him, in that perfect place, that he had nothing. This was the reason for his sorrow.

Later in the film Li Mu Bai says:

"The things we touch have no permanence. My master would say: there is nothing we can hold onto in this world. Only by letting go can we truly possess what is real".

This sounds true. But in the last moments of his life Li Mu Bai rejects the teaching of his master. He clings to Shu Lien as tightly as he can, refusing to let go.

Was this a mistake? I don't know. I'm at a position in my life where I accept nothing and question everything. The older I become, the less I know. This might sound like my life is empty, but that isn't a bad thing. Remember that only an empty glass can be filled.

One question that I asked myself after watching the film today is if spiritual enlightenment, as an inner experience, has any value at all. In the film Jade Fox denies this. She says, "Happiness is the most important thing in life, isn't it?" She is the film's most evil person, a murderess, but does she have a point?

I can relate to the words written by King Solomon of Israel, the wisest person on Earth during his lifetime, and probably one of the wisest men who has ever lived.

"The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, the fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise? The wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!" (Ecclesiastes 2:14-16)

Solomon's words are dangerously close to existentialism, a philosophy that I reject completely. The Book of Ecclesiastes holds a unique place in the Bible. Whereas the rest of the Bible purports to be the Word of God, this book is the word of a man thinking by himself, a man who only believes what he sees with his own eyes. That's probably the reason why it's so often quoted by people who don't believe in the Bible. The Book of Ecclesiastes is more accessible to non-believers.

Whether or not wisdom is worth while, it's a one-way path. A person who is on the path of wisdom might reject the teachings he's learnt, but he can't forget them. A fool can become wise, but a wise man can't become a fool; the most he can do is act like a fool.

When I was younger the words of Todd Rundgren inspired me. Amongst other things he sang, "A long, long road is behind me now. It's too late to be afraid of the choice that I have made". He was right. For me, like Todd, there is no going back.

Curse of the Golden Flower (4½ Stars)

Tragedies are out of fashion in modern culture. Today people want to see films that have a happy ending. Many of Shakespeare's plays were tragedies. "Coriolanus" showed the fate of a man who suffered because he did the right thing, whereas other tragedies show suffering as a result of his own evil deeds. Judging by this film, as well as other recent films, there is still an interest in China in tragedies.

The film is set in China's Tang Dynasty, which lasted from 618 to 907. The Emperor has three sons, Jai, Wan and Yu. Jai is the oldest, but the Emperor has chosen Wan, his favourite son, as his heir. After the death of his first wife he married a younger woman, the king's daughter. For years Wan had an affair with his step-mother, but now he has met Chan, the daughter of the imperial doctor, and wants to renounce his claim to the throne to run away with her. The Empress is bitter that Wan has rejected her and wants to kill him.

As if that isn't enough, the Emperor knows about his wife's infidelity and is taking revenge on her. He has asked the imperial doctor to add a slow working poison to her daily medicine. When the Empress finds out she decides to continue to drink the poison. She's happy to die, as long as the Emperor and Wan die with her. She involves Jai in a plot to overthrow the throne on the annual Feast of the Golden Chrysanthemum. At first Jai is unwilling to act against his father, but then he decides it's the right thing to do to avenge his father's poisoning of his mother.

But to be a true tragedy, even the love has to fail. We find out that the Emperor's first wife never died, she was simply banished because he wanted to strengthen his kingdom by marrying a higher situated woman. Unknown to him his first wife married the imperial doctor, which means that Wan is unwittingly having an affair with his sister.

And then the youngest son Yu also wants to become Emperor.....

As you can see, this is a complex story. The colours are opulent, as in most of the modern Chinese historical films. The battle scenes look more like ballet than a fight. The palace shown in the film is the largest film set ever built in China, maybe in the world. I didn't realise until today that I already own five films by the director Zhang Yimou. Apart from this film I have "The Road Home", "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers" and "Flowers of War". I should pay more attention to him.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

This is the second film in my Five Star Month. Unlike "800 Bullets", which I reviewed earlier today, this is a non-English film that found the appreciation it deserved. It was nominated for ten Oscars in 2001, of which it won four. I'm not sure, but this probably made it the most successful foreign language film ever, as far as the Oscars are concerned. The mix of action, drama, romance and beautiful cinematography makes it an all time classic.

The film has been described as "Sense and Sensibility with martial arts". I've never read Jane Austen's novel, but I assume this is meant as a compliment. There are several interlocking plots, but the main emphasis is on the romances between the principal characters. Li Mu Bai (played by Chow Yun Fat) is a warrior who has decided to retire from combat. Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) loves him, but has never found the courage to voice her feelings. Jen Yu (Ziyi Zhang) is the daughter of the governor of Peking. Her father has arranged her marriage with a suitable rich nobleman, but she would rather live an exciting life as a warrior. While travelling in the desert she is captured by a bandit known as Dark Cloud (Chen Chang). They fall in love before he sets her free.

I've enjoyed Chinese martial arts films for many years, but this was my first encounter with the fighting style mockingly called wire fu (sometimes shortened to wi fu). Instead of realistic fight scenes, such as those in films starring Bruce Lee, the actors' abilities are enhanced by hidden wires. This allows the film characters to defy the laws of physics; for instance, a character can jump and then change direction in mid air. Although wires can be used to enhance fight scenes while retaining realism, in this film no attempt is made to keep things genuine. This gives the fight scenes more of the surreal nature of a fairy tale. I've heard a lot of arguments for and against wire fu, and I myself prefer real fighting, but it does have its place. In this film, for instance, it is very effective.

A few words about the cast. Michelle Yeoh has long been my favourite martial arts actress. I've seen her in so many films that I can't remember where I saw her first. Chow Yun Fat is also an actor I greatly admire. Though he isn't as spectacular a fighter as Jet Li or Donnie Yen, he has an air of nobility that he projects whenever he walks onto the screen. This was the first film in which I saw Ziyi Zhang, but she has since become one of my favourite actresses. The combination of her acting skills and her youthful beauty fascinate me.

I expect many of my readers already know "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". People who would never usually watch Chinese films have seen it on television. It's very accessible, more easy for people to enjoy than hardcore Chinese fighting films such as "Ip Man". If you have never watched any Chinese martial arts films before this is a good place to start.

Click here to view the trailer.

Shanghai (4½ Stars)

This is the best example of film noir that I've seen in years. The film was made with a big budget and is shot in an exotic location, but it retains all the characteristics of film noir. But since there are supposedly differences in opinion on what "film noir" is, let me tell you what the key elements are.

1. There is a murder.

2. There is a male detective working to solve the murder. Though usually a private detective it might be a policeman or someone acting as a detective would. The detective is often flawed, for instance a drinker or a chain smoker.

3. There is a dangerous woman involved with the detective, a femme fatale.

4. The film is made either in black and white, or with subdued colours.

5. The film's pace is slow, relying on a dark mood rather than action.

If you check the Wikipedia page you will find a broader definition, but I disagree with most of what is written. If the five elements listed above aren't included it's not film noir. Wikipedia is a useful tool, but it isn't always right.

The film begins in October 1941, two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Paul Soames (John Cusack) is an undercover agent working for U.S. Naval Intelligence. His cover is as a reporter who writes pro-German articles for an American newspaper. After spending time in Berlin he is transferred to Shanghai. While there he discovers that his best friend, also a secret agent, has been murdered. He makes finding his friend's killer his priority.

Shanghai was a fascinating but dangerous city when Soames arrived. Most of China had been conquered by the Japanese, but Shanghai was jointly occupied by various powers and divided into sectors, the British, the French, the German and the Japanese. Nevertheless, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before Japan took the whole city for itself. The Chinese resistance saw Shanghai as their last battleground against the Japanese.

Soames works in the British sector, where his American newspaper is located, but his investigations lead him into the other sectors. He meets and befriends Anthony Lan-Ting, the city's Chinese crimelord, as well as the city's Japanese intelligence officer, who likes him because of his pro-German articles. But he also embarks on a dangerous relationship with Lan-Ting's wife, the film's obligatory femme fatale.

The film's slow, plodding pace makes a refreshing change to all the Hollywood action films made today. There should be more films like this. I highly recommend it to my readers.

Bulletproof Monk (4 Stars)

A monk blessed with an extended lifespan is protecting an ancient scroll that will make anyone who reads it the master of the world. A wealthy Nazi war criminal follows him all the way from China to New York. Though Chow Yun Fat is a renowned martial arts expert, the real fighting star of the film is Seann William Scott.

Confucius (4 Stars)

This is a biography of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, from the middle of his life till his death. Although the film has generally received rave reviews, I felt unsatisfied watching it, feeling that something was missing. I was missing a bridge to the real man. Having grown up in Europe I know almost nothing about who Confucius really was, and the film does little to answer my questions. He was a commoner, whose wisdom led him into a career in politics. Betrayed by rulers jealous of his influence he became an exile. In his old age he returned to his home town and became a teacher. Those are the facts behind his life. But do I know Confucius the man? I think not. The next time I watch this film I need to sit with someone from China to explain its details to me.