Wong Kar Wai retrospective - 2046

After the perfection of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE came the sequel, 2046 - a reflexive, rambling film that was ultimately a failure despite its ravishing visuals. Tony Leung reprised his role as Chow, now living in the Hong Kong of the late 1960s. He lives in a seedy hotel, next to room 2046 - a metaphor and focus for all his regrets and sexual yearnings. At the same time, he's writing a sci-fi novel set in 2046 - a place where you can relive your dreams in perpetuity. In this strange world of past, present and future, Chow meets a parade of beautiful, mysterious women, each dressed to perfection and photographed in a state of heightened beauty. If all these themes and striking images had been harnessed to empathetic characters and a proper story, Wong Kar Wai might have given his fans a film to treasure. Instead, the movie feels self-indulgent and unsatisfying. And, to paraphrase an interview with DP Christopher Doyle during a retrospective at the National Film Theatre, somewhat redundant. Wong Kar Wai said everything he needed to in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.

2046 played Cannes and London 2004 and is widely available on DVD.

THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER/MAN CHENG JIN DAI HUNAG JIN JIA - murder, incest, coups, cleavage

After RAISE THE RED LANTERN, HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, audiences expect certain things from a Zhang Yimou film. Namely, plots that are concerned with sexual oppression, rich production design, saturated colours, impressive camera-work and wire-fu action sequences. How does THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER stand up against this list?

First, not enough can be said about the rich colours, textures and detail of the production design. The sets and costumes all emphasise the decadent luxury and claustrophia of the 9th century Chinese court. Gong Li's Empress is weighed down by golden jewelry, elaborate head-dresses and richly embroidered robes. The thematic material also fits well with the rest of Zhang Yimou's oeuvre. The oppression of women is clear, from the restrictive bodices and outer garments to the Empress' inability to refuse taking her medicine. However, the oppression is spread to every member of society who serves the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat). In an absolute monarchy, we can see the comodification and objectification of the individual at every level of society. The impressive opening sequence of the film sees the female servants getting dressed as identikit automata, but even the royal Princes have to bow to their father when addressing him. The camera-work and sound-design emphasise the claustrophobia of court life. In scene after scene we see the Empress walking through maze-like hallucinogenic-coloured corridors.

Second, the action is of the highly stylised wire-fu variety than Zhang Yumou made famous. But there is less of it in this film than in Hero, for instance. Aside from a small sword sequence in the opening half hour, and a quick sequence with some flying assassins around half way through, martial arts fans have to wait for an enthralling battle sequence near the end of the film for a true martial arts fix. It was all too little for Doctor007 - a true wire-fu fanatic.

But I did not miss the lack of back-to-back action sequences in THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. I liked the emphasis on, and juxtaposition between, the melodramatic Spanish revenge-style plot and the stylised, subtle, classical Chinese acting. In the opulent Tang court, a mighty Emperor sits. He has three sons. The first was born of the Emperor's beloved first-wife, now deceased. He is a callow young man who is having an incestuous affair with his stepmother, the Empress consort, and an abortive affair with the Imperial Doctor's daughter. The second son and third sons were born of the Empress-Consort. The elder of the two has just returned from exile, and will be forced to make a bid for the throne to protect his mother. The third and youngest son is largely ignored. The irony is that while the second son is forced to stage a coup, his father actually intends to make him the Crown Prince. And when all the fighting is done, the movie slips quietly away with an ambiguous ending. This has attracted some criticism, but I rather liked it. It's as if to say, look at this plotting - all this murder and revenge - what was it worth? What did it change? Fantastic stuff.

THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER went on release in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the US in 2006. It opened in Thailand, the Philippines, Greece, France, Poland, Mexico, Turkey, the Netherlands, Colombia and Argentina earlier this year. It is currently on release in Belgium and the UK and opens in Australia, Germany and Spain at the end of April. It opens in Italy on May 25th, in Brazil on June 15th, in Finland on September 7th and in Japan on October 13th 2007. It is also available on Region 1 DVD.

HANNIBAL RISING - he knows Kung Fu

HANNIBAL RISING is an unnecessary prequel to the Hannibal Lektor stories, RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I call it unnecessary because I always thought it was scary to see Lektor as an evil that simply existed rather than the result of some childhood trauma. The unexplained is infinitely more frightening that the neatly diagnosed. Of course, in a world of shameless cash-ins, a prequel was a dead cert, and here we have it.

The movie is directed by Peter Webber of THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING fame, and so looks handsome and contains fine performances as far as the absurd script allows. It opens on the Eastern Front of World War Two, with the aristocratic Lektor family being caught in the cross-fire of the Nazis, Soviets and mercenary partisans. Trapped in a cabin with the latter, Lektor as a young ten-year old sees them cannibalise his young sister. This would be a plot spolier (it takes Hannibal half the film to remember) were it not so bloody obvious from the start. Lektor survives the attack and as a young adult escapes a Soviet orphanage - gaily pole-vaulting over the Berlin Wall - to join his widowed Aunt in France. In another authorial choice that stretches credibility, the aunt turns out to be a glamourous Japanese woman who teaches him Samurai skills (!) and condones his murderous crimes of vengeance. Hannibal then attends medical school, becomes involved in the persecution of Vichy criminals and returns to his home to extract revenge.

Gaspard Ulliel (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) and Gong Li do as well as can be expected with their roles as Hannibal and Lady Murasaki. Ditto Rhys Ifans as the original cannibal. But the whole this is transparent nonsense and even more high-camp than the Anthony Hopkins movies. I am also slightly disturbed by the casual way in which the Holocaust is used as a sort of narrative crutch for the movie. Clealy, one to avoid.

HANNIBAL RISING is on release in the US, UK, France, Australia, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Latvia and Turkey. It opens in Germany, Austria, Finland, Iceland and Norway on February 16th, and in Belgium and Estonia on February 23rd. t opens in Singapore on March 1st, the Netherlands on March 8th, Hong Kong on March 15th, Japan on March 31st and in Malaysia on April 14th.

MIAMI VICE moved so slow it grew moss

I have to confess that I never saw a single episode of smash-hit TV series of MIAMI VICE back in the '80s. So to me, it will always be something to be parodied - those blond high-lights, white jackets with the sleeves rolled up - just a pop-culture reference from Adam Sandler's THE WEDDING SINGER. My lack of familiarity with the TV series may, however be an advantage in viewing the new movie, because a lot of fans have complained that aside from the names of the characters, not much is the same. Perhaps they were expecting a more cheesy Bad Boys style gag-fest.

What they get is a dark crime thriller with a great cast (Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell) and director. Michael Mann is the guy who directed MANHUNTER, ALI, THE INSIDER and perhaps most famously, HEAT. Even the minor characters are played by some of the finest character actors around: not least Ciaran Hinds and Naomie Harris. And let's not forget that this movie is photographed by Dion Beebe - a truly great cinematographer - who also shot the lush MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and Michael Mann's outstanding feature, COLLATERAL.

Am I boring you yet? The key point is that this movie has pedigree. Why then did I find my mind wandering during the screening? The thing is that the movie is very very long and moves at a very very slow pace. The plot is interesting, I guess. The acting is good. The script is intelligent and I can over-look the odd cheesy line. The action sequences are tense, the violence is high-impact and there are plenty of money-shots of fast cars and speedboats, But ye gods, MIAMI VICE moves slow. Humbly, I have the solution. The screenwriter could have axed the whole Isabella/Gong Li plot-line and saved the audience an hour of time and the more absurd plot contrivances. Seriously, am I really meant to believe that a hard-headed businesswoman is going to fall for Crockett's sly salsa moves?! My only other gripe is that the movie is shot on hi-def video and looks really grainy and washed out. In particular, check out a scene around 15 minutes in when Crockett and Tubbs are driving in their car at night and are called in by their chief. It looks like a worn out old VHS cassette.

Overall, MIAMI VICE is a mediocre thriller with above-average action shots but presented in a grainy print. For this reason, and so you can fast forward through the dull "let's-go-to-Cuba" sequence, it's probably one to rent on DVD.

MIAMI VICE is already on release in such disparate places as Puerto Rica, Thailand, the US, Canada, Uruguay, the Philippines, Israel, Portugal and Russia. It opens today in the UK and Mexico. In opens in Australia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on August 11th and in Belgium, France, Argentina, the Czech Rep., the Netherlands, South Korea and Estonia on the 17th. It opens in Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Brazil and Poland on the 25th August. It opens in Spain and Turkey on September 8th, Venezuals on September 15th, Japan on the 23rd, Greece on the 28th and finally in Italy on October 8th.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - A snowflake of a movie

I use the phrase "visually stunning" to describe movies rather often, but in the case of MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA it is, once again, apt. I guess it is just syptomatic of a world in which Hollywood regularly throws $90million at blockbuster movies. With all that cash, you have to try really hard not to get wonderful sets, stunning costumes and production design. This movie really is beautiful to look at. The geisha themselves are truly art-forms and the world they inhabit is like a fairy-tale land of dark forests, crystal clear rivers, cherry blossom and marshmallow clouds. True, they must contend with rather petty forms of female bitchiness, but the harsher realities of life are kept at bay. When the US bombs Japan, one geisha is sent to the country by her protector, another staves off starvation by - oh, the hardship! - selling a kimono. When the war is over, they pick up where they left off. True, any street-walker can now be a "geisha" and service the US personnel, but for a true geisha, a rich Japanese protector can still be found.

I sat through all two and a half hours of this movie enraptured by the successful evocation of a dream-world Japan. I am sure it is not authentic, but it is lavish, soothing, lovely all the same. However, as I left the screening, the snowflake melted and the spell was broken. Beauty aside, I had gained nothing. The geisha had sold me the same show as her men: she dances, she entertains, but we never see behind the mask. We are not allowed to see whether she feels guilty about her protector's wife and children, or for disappointing the man who is in love with her, let alone her reactions to the dramatic changes in her country. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is, then, pretty, but pointless. I guess there are worse things to be.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is on global release