Tuesday, April 8, 2008
It's hard out here for a concubine. You're always fighting for attention, engaging in an underhanded battle with the other mistresses, you live in a big empty castle, and if you fool around they hang you. Not a good time.
This was a compelling, good looking period piece that was (unbeknownst to me when I watched it) directed by the same fellow that did Hero and House of Flying Daggers. There's no kung-fu in this one, though. Shame. I gave it 4 out of 5 on Netflix, but I think some kung-fu might have pushed it to a 5.
One thing that really surprised me here is that they make the main character out to be a horrible, selfish bitch. And I guess she becomes somewhat more sympathetic as the story progresses, but she doesn't really seem to learn anything or become a better person, and she does a lot of awful things. It's an interesting choice that I appreciated, although it does perhaps lessen the emotional impact of the movie, because you don't quite care about her as much as the movie would like you to.
Actually, with a better ending, this probably would have gotten my 5th star. But I think it goes on a beat or two too long, and it really doesn't earn it's final, left-field payoff. There's a perfectly suitable ending maybe 10 minutes earlier, but it keeps going and I think diminishes the overall impact of the film. But it's still a very good one.
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