Ashes of Time (1995)

A broken-hearted hit man moves to the desert where he finds skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings.Roger Ebert wrote, "If Wong Kar-Wai were a painter, he might sometimes create bold, bright swirls on his canvas, with something figurative swimming into view." Further, "I watched attentively, I was dazzled by the beauty of the palate and the fluidity of the camera." He does have a grievance, though. The plot " is somewhat confusing." Well, yes, no one seems to know the plot. Which is weird, considering this version (the so-called redux) is supposed to be an improvement from the original. How can it be improved if no one knows what is going on? Answer: plot is not important, just look at all the vibrant colors!

There are movies that, by dint of their measured mood alone, can draw the viewer in and hold the attention. VAMPYR comes to mind, as does RASHOMON; SEVEN SAMURAI; STRAY DOG; HIGH AND LOW; THE WINDOW; REAR WINDOW; CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS; ERASERHEAD; THE BLACK STALLION; TROUBLE IN MIND; others. Add to that select list ASHES OF TIME. Like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON after it, ASHES OF TIME comes across as a profound meditation on Love Lost, of opportunity missed. The performances are all of the highest caliber- as is the direction. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The music wrings the heart. (And, lest one forget: the fight choreography by Sammo Hung is absolutely spectacular.) I read somewhere, once, that it's not the Love we've lost that's important: what's important is the fact that we Love at all. I think that's about right. It sure feels right.

I watched the Ashes of Time when I was in high school nearly a decade ago. At that time, director Wong Kar-Wei's In the Mood for Love, a film featuring 28 sets of cheong-sam, got wide recognition in mainland China and Wong Kar-Wei was deemed to be a stylish director with distinguished talent and personality, whose oeuvres became an absolute must to those who consider themselves a tasteful film-fan. To be honest, I did not find out anything substantial in the well-recognized In the Mood for Love though I like his earlier impressionable tragedy-Days of Being Wild, which was permeated by many Hong Kong-made elements from cinematographic point of view. As to the director's "blockbuster"-2046, I deem it as the best interpretation of exhaustion of genius and power. But when I heard that Ashes of Time was redone, I was still interested because it's Wong Kar-Wei's best oeuvre in my opinion. It seems that loneliness is the director's favorite theme, and the imaginative story of three characters – Dong Xie (odd man in east) Xi Du (vicious man in west) and Bei Gai (beggar leader in north) was fantastic. I watched the redone version in cinema, the visual effect is much better,also it looks like that I was taking a nostalgia lesson.

Your ability to enjoy The Ashes of Time may depend on our expectations before stepping into the theater. Even its most strident supporters seem to agree that audiences can be split right up the middle in their appreciation of this unique film.Unlike most HK actioners, the battle scenes are curiously kept at a distance. When they do happen, they're rendered in a jerky style in which it's difficult to make out exactly what's occurring on screen. The dramatic scenes can be extravagantly beautiful, with the of Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, and a roll-call of HK's top acting talent chewing up the scenery. As with some of Wong Kar-wai's early work, the dialog could be more precise. In short, The Ashes of Time requires a forgiving attitude. Released around the same time as Wong Kar-wai's spectacularly successful Chungking Express, it's clear that the director isn't as confident working with the elements of the martial arts film. Anyone looking for tense action is likely to be disappointed. But those intrigued by the director's aesthetic will likely find this a unique experience at the very least.