CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER Gets Positive Reviews at Home International Teaser(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 21, 2006
(Beijing New Picture Film Co.)
A week-long Oscar qualification run for Zhang Yimou's third martial-art epic Curse of the Golden Flower has began secretly yesterday at a movie theater in Beijing. This is for making it qualified for competing for the Best Foreign Language Film category of next year's Oscar, and Sony Pictures Classics is scheduled to release it in North America in December, which would make it qualified for other categories. According to several Chinese newspapers, Beijingers who have seen the film are almost overwhelmingly praising this US$45 million historical drama. According to some of them, Curse of the Golden Flower shows lavish designs and beautiful cinematography, and above all, a nicely written story presented by a first class cast at a true epic level. When Zhang Yimou's Hero came out about four years ago, reviews at home were sharpely divided. The criticizers of the film said it generally had no story. Then Zhang made House of Flying Daggers, an attempt of telling a story, which turned out disappointing most Chinese viewers. Then Chen Kaige's shot his own epic The Promise, which was basically a junkie mess. Earlier this month, The Banquet, a big budget historical drama by another influential Chinese director Feng Xiaogang, best known for directing comedies about ordinary people, was released and got a mixed review both at home and overseas. From Monkey Peaches
