Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Wolfgang (i) on May 30, 2001 at 15:13:09

After all the hoopla surrounding this movie, I finally watched it on video last night (warning: the movie is 173 minutes long). While many critics proclaimed this to be a modern masterpiece, I didn't see it that way. Of course, maybe I need to view it a second time to fully appreciate it.

I did, however, like the many nice touches the director put into this film. It is very obvious that a lot of thought went into creating each scene. In some cases, I was whispering under my breath "Wow!" Not being Chinese, I was confused here and there with the various Chinese characters' names, but that's to be expected of a lazy-a$$ like myself who needs to be spoon-fed now and then.

Was it a boring 3 hours? No. But it is like a Japanese film in that many scenes appear to be longer than it should be (even though it really isn't) and no background music whatsoever. Very understated tone.

The subtitles are pretty bad. Often, the white background "hides" the white subtitles so, you may miss some details here and there.

One odd thing about the ending. Don't worry, I won't give it away. All the stories in this movie are resolved slowly but surely by the time the movie ends. However, for some odd reason, I "felt" unresolved. Funny feeling.

Go rent it and dedicate 3 hours of your life to this alleged masterpiece (I just consider it a good flick). But you should be in the mood for a movie without explosions, car chases, beautiful background music, beautiful scenery, sex, nudity, and the occassional head being chopped off. If you're in the mood for understatement, this movie should be on your list.