Breathtakingly beautiful and empowering

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2001)

I think it's fair to say that I haven't seen such a beautiful looking film since Stealing Beauty (and rest assured, I am talking cinematography, not story). The pure poetry of the scenery is magic and could well have survived as a movie on its own, without any help from a story!
That said, the story is also quite extraordinary. The 'magical' jade sword is stolen from it's rightful owner and a search for the thief ensues. Include a sub-plot of vengeance between the Jade Fox and the young man whose master was killed by Jade Fox and you have a story. This is an incredibly simplistic synopsis.
I think the beauty of this whole film is its simplicity. The relationships are uncomplicated, the reasons for revenge are simple. Please don't think that this is me bagging it. Quite the contrary. I was moved, really moved by the this film and I highly recommend it.