mailonekms-imd Reviews

Ye yan (2006)

A beautiful yet disturbing art piece

[9/10 · 24 September 2006]

Definitely worth catching on the BIG screen, this is an epic about court intrigue in the Five Dynasties period, which follows in part the Hamlet setup of a murderous uncle usurper (You Ge) and his duplicitous queen (Zhang Ziyi), with an angry yet distant, brooding prince (Daniel Wu). The details and setting are different enough so that the new story carries its own weight and is interesting, however. The acting is strong (some excellent), the martial arts scenes memorable, and the sets are fantastic! This is not a fully realistic historical drama, by the way. Director Xiaogang Feng has crafted a modern art piece here, highly stylized in some parts, and often gory, especially the martial arts scenes, so if you can't stomach people flying and leaping like phoenixes (while disemboweling each other), skip it. The highly artistic feel of the film is kept somewhat in check by the gritty, used, and sometimes decaying feel of the palace, and more so by the tight, sparse dialog, the drama and the tension of the story. (Although following in the footsteps of highly stylized films like some of Zhang Yimou's, the focus returns very firmly to the story in this one, thankfully.) Similarly, the stunning beauty of parts of the film is balanced by the unmitigated ambition of the characters and their other dark flaws. These left the story with no single, simplified protagonist to cheer for – the very opposite of Hollywood formula. (The supporting role played by Xun Zhou might be an exception, but she's the very image of innocence and purity to a fatal flaw, and you pity her more than rooting for her.) The raw ambition, incestuous lust, jealous hate, betrayal and/or impotence darken nearly every character. While refreshingly different in this sense, it almost left me reaching for my goblet of hemlock. The Chinese title Ye Yan should have been translated as The Night Banquet rather than The Banquet (its English billing where I am), as the climax occurs at a midnight banquet unwisely set by the emperor at an inauspicious time, and it would have better reflected the darkness of the film.

Overall, I give it a big thumbs up.

The Break-Up (2006)

Two hours of ugly arguing and hurtful behavior

[1/10 · 17 September 2006]

If two hours of ugly arguing and hurtful behavior are your idea of a good movie, then this drama might be for you. The acting was credible, the minor characters creative and interesting, and the direction was competent. But to bill this in any way as a romantic comedy is downright unethical. People arguing and trying to top each other with hurtful behavior is neither romantic nor funny. True, there were a few very funny moments with some of the minor characters, but these were not enough to salvage the film. This is only the second time I think I've wanted to leave a cinema during the movie, and I started feeling like that only 1/4 of the way through this. In fact I wish I had. If you enjoyed War of the Roses, perhaps you'll like this, but for me, both were one-way tickets to depression.