What an odd movie. The normally brilliant Yimou Zhang comes up with a very odd remake of the Coen Brothers overrated movie Wise Blood. It's a strange, slapsticky black comedy with no consistency of character or tone. While there are good performances by Ni Yan and Honglei Sun, they don't really belong in the same movie, and neither performance fits with the very odd one from Xiao Shen-Yang. The slapstick is often too broad (although there's a brilliant comedic scene involving making noodles) and the quick shifts in mood seem unaccountable.
All this movie has going for it are the visuals, which are stunning. It is a really amazing looking movie. But that's it.
All this movie has going for it are the visuals, which are stunning. It is a really amazing looking movie. But that's it.