AKA: Dung che sai duk redux; The Heretic East and the Venomous West
Country and Year: Hong Kong (2008)
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Carina Lau, Jacky Cheung and Maggie Cheung

Review By: David Austin
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars (good)

[Confession time: I’ve never seen the original version of Ashes of Time – I gave up following a failed attempt years ago to watch a DVD of it that easily ranks among the most appallingly discs ever created. Consequently, I cannot speak to the differences between the two versions.]

Ashes of Time is an almost purely sensual experience. The film is about colors, and light, and the eyes, faces and skin of some of the most beautiful (and most talented) actors and actresses that Hong Kong has to offer. The soul of the film lies neither in its plot or its dialogue, but rather in the deep textured oranges and blues and greens with which Wong and famed cinematographer Chris Doyle lens the deserts of western China. Wong constantly cuts away from the story to focus on the landscape, making it as essential a character as any of the protagonists. Surprisingly few films truly capture the physical majesty of China. I once took an 18 hour train ride through China and was stunned by the immensity and variety of the landscapes outside the cramped urban centers. Wong and Doyle capture this feeling of vastness.

This is not to suggest that the human players are short-changed. Wong pays as much attention to how he shoots the cast as he does to the backdrop. Consider the artistry of a lengthy shot of Brigitte Lin standing before a slowly rotating birdcage, the shadows flickering across her face. We are clearly in the hands of the same sensualist who years later would helm In the Mood for Love, with its restrained fetishizing of smoke and rain and gorgeous cheongsam dresses.

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