Most beautiful martial arts kitsch opera to date

Rating: 7/10 (28 January 2007)

Without the breathtaking visuals of the lake scenes, that are truly visionary, and a couple of outstanding pieces in terms of color in movement (but I've seen better from Yimou, in "Raise the red lanterns"), this movie would just be another of these Chinese kitsch martial arts operas. Posters in motion. Clean, dis-incarnated, pretty, empty, forgettable.
The History/Magick story is mundane and relies on tired clichés that even the cheapest Asian TV series treat with more wit, but it's not the point anyway. In such a movie, the story is a mere pretext, a distant annotation to please the masses, for the director to have his real fun in creating a dary audiovisual vocabulary that at the same time enthralls and annoys.
The problems is that most of the "beauty" pictured is, actually, mere aesthetic bombast, this being underlined by countless pretentious slow-motion shots, the melodramatic score, and by the very unnatural looking wirework, with movements that look utterly phony. At least most of it.
But there's a payoff. It's not long, but it turns the whole movie into a rewarding experience.
When the film reached what I guess was Yimou's original vision, the lake scenes, my jaw dropped. This is terrific stuff, really admirable. The level of abstraction of the movement, and the celebration of the beauty and power of nature, in these scenes, are astounding. The characters are extensions of their environment, so are their spirits and their blades. For a short time, we viewers experience pure grace, genuine transcendence.
Too bad that the rest of the movie is mostly an empty hull.
I still prefer Hsia Nu (Touch of Zen) by a fair margin. It reaches the same heights without resorting to kitsch and trendy clip-like tricks.