I have watched this movie twice. The first time I was scared at the beginning, but the beautiful visual effects still left a deep impression on me. Many years later, I watched it again, then I have dug something new for this movie.
It's a movie with distinct advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is, the structure of it is not really good and there are some logical problems which can not be explained.
However, there are more advantages than visual effect. As a Chinese, there are so many real historic characters and some real historic stories that I am familiar with. Therefore, it's better for me to understand the story Kaige wants to express to the audience. Lady Yang's fate is like the fate of Tang Dynasty, when the Dynasty is prosperous, she can be the mascot, but when the Dynasty declined, that's all her fault. That's also the fate with every beautiful woman who was by the side of the emperors who witnessed the decline and fall of the Dynasty in Chinese history. It's such a shame to blame everything on a women only because she was beautiful. And I also feel pity about the fate of Tang and hers.
Kaige uses Lady Yang to show what the human nature is. I really like a review I saw on a Chinese social media website. It seems that everyone loves Lady Yang, but no one really loves the real her. Emperor Xuanzong wanted her to show his power as an emperor because he owned the most beautiful woman in China. Lushan An made rebellion on the name of hers to showed his challenge of the power of Emperor Xuanzong. Abe loved her because he liked Tang Dynasty, he considered her as a symbol of the beauty of Tang. Juyi Bai loved her because she was a symbol of the past prosperity of the dynasty, and he wanted to memorize it. The White Crane loved her only because they had the similar experience in their childhood. Lady Yang understood it, so she said Bai Li's honesty is good for Tang.
Anyway, it's a generally beautiful, removing and heart-broken story for me.
It's a movie with distinct advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is, the structure of it is not really good and there are some logical problems which can not be explained.
However, there are more advantages than visual effect. As a Chinese, there are so many real historic characters and some real historic stories that I am familiar with. Therefore, it's better for me to understand the story Kaige wants to express to the audience. Lady Yang's fate is like the fate of Tang Dynasty, when the Dynasty is prosperous, she can be the mascot, but when the Dynasty declined, that's all her fault. That's also the fate with every beautiful woman who was by the side of the emperors who witnessed the decline and fall of the Dynasty in Chinese history. It's such a shame to blame everything on a women only because she was beautiful. And I also feel pity about the fate of Tang and hers.
Kaige uses Lady Yang to show what the human nature is. I really like a review I saw on a Chinese social media website. It seems that everyone loves Lady Yang, but no one really loves the real her. Emperor Xuanzong wanted her to show his power as an emperor because he owned the most beautiful woman in China. Lushan An made rebellion on the name of hers to showed his challenge of the power of Emperor Xuanzong. Abe loved her because he liked Tang Dynasty, he considered her as a symbol of the beauty of Tang. Juyi Bai loved her because she was a symbol of the past prosperity of the dynasty, and he wanted to memorize it. The White Crane loved her only because they had the similar experience in their childhood. Lady Yang understood it, so she said Bai Li's honesty is good for Tang.
Anyway, it's a generally beautiful, removing and heart-broken story for me.