An otherworldly Painting

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2012)

It's possible we've never seen color applied so beautifully or so pointedly on screen before. This film is a painting - with composition so classical and stunning that i kept forgetting to read the subtitles and having to rewind. Zhang Yimou, words cannot say, he knows how to stage a scene. This film is otherworldly in its imagery, something that works for this particular narrative, which takes place mostly in fantastic sequences of recollection rather than reality. In turn, the dominant color of each sequence identifies and emboldens the differences between each of these alternating perspectives. And in the end, Tarantino-esque, these swirling pieces of memory coalesce as the narrative of a single conversation between two main characters, the king and his assassin. I gave it a rousing eight stars because, as an audience, we are engrossed and captivated by the audacity of the cinematic effort, and we can understand the meaning of the film in the application of this visual artistry. The reason i gave it only eight stars is because i think that the film is academic in the sense that i never identified with the characters on an emotional level. The themes come together, but more in the mind and less in the heart. My appreciation remained safely in the technical/artistic spectacle of the filmmaking; but that alone - I promise - may well move you to tears.