a chinese tale uxueta labrit
We loved Chinese films when we were kids. Come to think of it, that’s probably why we put our names down for judo at school. However, time ploughs on. Just look at the list of the mythical cinemas where we saw those films, they have all long since disappeared: Rex, Savoy, Miramar... Our judo teacher from back then has also become a bit of a myth after his own fashion. A moustachioed Julen Madina with a full head of hair was our "master". Anyway, the thing is that we still love those old Chinese films. And now we’re waiting... waiting for Zang Yimou’s latest flick.
It’s called "The Curse of The Golden Flower", although the original Chinese title is "The City of The Golden Armour". It very much follows on in the lines of his other films ("Hero", "Tho House of The Flying Daggers"). Amazing war scenes, tales of Shakespearian power intrigues and soap-style love tangles. This is all filmed with Yimou’s usual breathtaking aesthetics and spectacular camerawork. To top things off, this picture seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers in China. The trouble lies, it seems, in the cleavages on show. The dresses have come in for some harsh criticism, as have those uncovered parts of the body that seem to be popping out everywhere during the film. The polemics haven’t stopped Yimou’s last film from breaking all box-office records in China though. The reason why it’s broken so many records is because several large companies have snapped up massive amounts of tickets. Telecom company China Mobile has spent 740,000 euros on tickets for its workers.
I got as far as the yellow-orange belt before I chucked in the judo. The "Jandilla" bulls bloodied our old judo teacher’s sash for him in the bull-run in Pamplona... time goes by... but we still delight at Chinese films. We get the feeling that this delight isn’t going to abate either. In this day and age where relocation is seeing so many factories heading to Asia, they also seem to have got their hands of the factory of dreams.
It’s called "The Curse of The Golden Flower", although the original Chinese title is "The City of The Golden Armour". It very much follows on in the lines of his other films ("Hero", "Tho House of The Flying Daggers"). Amazing war scenes, tales of Shakespearian power intrigues and soap-style love tangles. This is all filmed with Yimou’s usual breathtaking aesthetics and spectacular camerawork. To top things off, this picture seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers in China. The trouble lies, it seems, in the cleavages on show. The dresses have come in for some harsh criticism, as have those uncovered parts of the body that seem to be popping out everywhere during the film. The polemics haven’t stopped Yimou’s last film from breaking all box-office records in China though. The reason why it’s broken so many records is because several large companies have snapped up massive amounts of tickets. Telecom company China Mobile has spent 740,000 euros on tickets for its workers.
I got as far as the yellow-orange belt before I chucked in the judo. The "Jandilla" bulls bloodied our old judo teacher’s sash for him in the bull-run in Pamplona... time goes by... but we still delight at Chinese films. We get the feeling that this delight isn’t going to abate either. In this day and age where relocation is seeing so many factories heading to Asia, they also seem to have got their hands of the factory of dreams.
