Review of Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) by Henrik S — 22 Feb 2014

An epic Chinese tragedy in the same league as Oedipus or other Greek masterpieces. A family intrigue bursting with questions of loyalties, politics, sexual desire, tradition and usurpation. All is packed in the most lushest of cinematographical oeuvres and sets with strong acting from all sides (with the exception of Ye Liu, who overplays most of his reactions).

I dragged on a bit towards the end, with a strong desire to top the over-the-top style with an even more intense battle scene, typical for Chinese cinema. Yet, it still manages to "reduce" (in a good way) the final conflict back to the family table - quite literally - where the remaining loose ends are resolved in one way or another.

I strongly urge everybody to watch this in the original language version, because it sounds way too campy in English and quite a bit of the inherit cultural tone is lost in the translation. A great, epic Chinese family drama set in a royal environmnt.