it's pretty

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2003)

I must agree with many of the previous comments that this film is seriously one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a while. The colors are incredible and the painstaking tasks that direct Zhang Yimou puts into it should also be noted. Although, I must say that I find the plot development a little bit weak. For most of the time, I didn't really understand the need of Zhang Ziyi's character and thought that the story could have developed her character a little bit better. The story has a certain Rashomon feel to it, and I must say I have always found a non-chronological order of telling a story most interesting. The martial arts in this film isn't exactly what serious wuxia fans will expect. It doesn't compare to great martial arts films like Fist of Legends or Iron Monkey. I found the fighting scenes a lot slower than those found specifically for chinese audience, but I cannot deny the fact that even the fight scenes are beautiful. So definitely watch it.