Curse of the Golden Flower.

I have been wanting to see this movie, Curse of the Golden Flower, with the absolutely gorgeous Gong Li, for some time. It is in Chinese & I hate dubbing so got sub~titles. Naturally all my children rolled their eyes & went crabbing instead. They missed an absolute feast for the eyes.



This is a visually stunning movie. I have no idea how correct the history is, not much would be my guess, & one quote I read suggested it was a mish~mash of Shakespearean tragedy plots ~ which is sort of accurate. The plot is very melodramatic & it sort of lost me with the ninja thingies & rivers of blood but those are small hiccups in a movie that is detail obsessive & rich in colour & visuals. I am still trying to figure out how anyone did anything wearing those long golden finger nails Gong Li wore with her gowns. The opening shots of all the hand maids dressing in the same outfit at exactly the same time in long neat rows...well for this disorderly person the mind just boggles that anyone would think in such rigid lines let alone convince a whole palace to behave in this manner. The ritual, the colours, the beauty have left a lasting impression despite the fact all the main characters are absolutely horrible & plotting against each other...hence the rivers of blood outcome! Not for the faint of heart.