Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006)

Power has a way of poisoning everything it touches, including the bonds of family. Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower," a fictionalized look at the vicious palace politics of 10th-century China, shows just how far a ruthless ruler will go to seize and keep control. Chow Yun-fat stars as Emperor Ping, whose reign is built on fear. The lavish sets, massive ceremonial spectacles and fiercely choreographed battle scenes deliver the kind of visual wow that audiences have come to expect from Chinese epics like Zhang's own "House of Flying Daggers" and Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The intricate plot centers on the Emperor's wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li), and their three sons: Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), a stepson from the Emperor's first marriage; the loyal warrior Prince Jai (Jay Chou); and young Prince Yu (Qin Junjie). The Empress discovers that her husband has been slowly poisoning her with a toxic fungus mixed into her medicine, and she secretly plots with Jai to overthrow him. The story opens on the eve of the Chrysanthemum Festival, as the Empress obsessively embroiders golden chrysanthemums for the uniforms of her secret army. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Wan is tangled in a forbidden affair with his stepmother while falling for a young woman whose family is bound up in the Emperor's darkest secrets. By the night of the festival, family members are pitted against one another in a web of lies worthy of "King Lear," one that can only end in ruin. The most chilling aspect is that even as his family crumbles, the Emperor's iron grip on power never loosens. The dazzling palace settings and Oscar-nominated costumes, reflecting the decadence of China's ruling class, are endlessly entertaining, and the film's darkest irony is that the Emperor rules successfully both despite and because of his utter cruelty.