In Curse of the Golden Flower, Zhang Yimou tries to top the breathtaking poetic spectacle of his masterpiece, House of Flying Daggers, and instead plummets into self-parody.
In this imperially embossed soap opera, the bodices come pre-burst, thanks to the lascivious 10th-century fashions of the Later Tang Dynasty.
Curse of the Golden Flower (Sony Pictures Classics) Starring Gong Li, Chow Yun Fat. Directed by Zhang Yimou. Rated R. Time 114 minutes.