You know, while the mixed reviews had me a little worried this wouldn't live up to my hype, my faith never wavered. It seems my conviction was justified, because my goodness is this a masterpiece! So good in fact, that I missed the last direct bus back home because I was so engrossed in discussing it afterwards - if my misfortune is not an endorsement, then I don't know what is!
If you've seen Hero and House of Flying Daggers, then you can know what to expect from the plot here: a semi-historical account of a band of usurpers, plotting with wild abandon against tyrannical authority, inside a twisty plot as loyalties shift in constant flux, amounting to a grand political stance as reality reveals itself to be far too complicated for any one person to fully grasp. Yet Zhang no longer seems to care as much for spectacle as he used to, because while there's for sure still action here - and my god is it brutal, displaying the sheer ruthlessness of Chinese history in all its glory - it's no longer nearly as stylish as what he once revelled in. Which works to the film's favour, as it means it can purely focus on the central enigma it strives to unravel, with the character's far more likeable and their motivations far easier to digest because they're no longer so frustratingly aloof - Jackson Yee is the last remnant of this, but it works to brilliant effect as his 'straightmanness' violently clashes with all the other absurdities he gets swept up in.
Instrumental to this is the comedy, which laces the mind-blowing screenplay with wit at every turn, each revelation and each despair underscored by a relentless pursuit of humour that envelopes the intrigue inside a bundle of perpetual laughs. And when you have an audience as engrossed in the humour as yourself, it all becomes that much more endearing. Zhang isn't unfamiliar to comedy, as he's been experimenting with it since Red Sorghum; it just took comedic geniuses like Shen Teng and Zhang Yi to fully realise their potential by imbuing the charming jokes with their own remarkably enchanting screen presence. Also, best Shen Teng performance? Because while he's as hilarious as I knew he would be, he's also so effective at delivering the really quite moving drama, burdening himself with layers upon layers to become utterly mesmerising to witness. This may very well be Zhang's most entertaining piece; the fact that it's paired with his most slickly written and inventive - yet likewise emotionally charged and passionate - screenplay in recent years makes the experience all the better.
