ASHES OF TIME

Last night i watched this work of art by Wong Kar Wai, and I was quite overwhelmed. Wong Kar has long been renowned as one of China's most prolific Cinematic exports, and this movie proves it.

The plot is not the most important thing here, nor is the action which to be honest left me feeling a little disoriented because of its jerkiness. The key to understanding and enjoying the movie is instead in the art of storytelling that Wong Kar Wai employs. Through a roughly one and a half hour duration some seemingly disconnected personalities are woven into an awesome climactic sequence.

Partly a study on the nature of human emotions, and partly an examination of personality types, the movie succeeds on both counts for me. The dialogues are neither too obtuse or esoteric, nor too one dimensional; which is the same for the characters themselves. I suspect that much of Chinese folklore and philosophy has been interwoven into the movie.

The cinematography is first rate. Certain scenes look like they would have been perfectly at home among one of Ansel Adam's best photographs; and coming from a Photography fanatic that's high praise. The beauty of the desert is not cosmeticized( this btw is not a real word!) but presented in all it's cruelty and quiet tenacity.

The characters are played excellently by some Hong Kong heavy weights. I think that Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung steal the movie through their stellar performances though. Tony Leung in particular occupying very little screen time proves that long does not necessarily mean better. Props to all the cast though!

I always desist from elaborating on the plot in my reviews because I feel that it is for the viewer to discover for themselves. What I can say without any prejudice is that Wong Kar wai deserves every accolade he gets. very few movies leave me feeling half satiated and craving. This was one of them.

There are some very strong, but covert, sexual allusions in the movie. See if you can spot them; perhaps that'll tell you how observant you are:-)

Watch it!