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rburnes
Reviews
Wu ji (2005)
One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen
I saw this film at the Traverse City Film Festival in August 2006 and loved it. As the title suggests, the film is about a promise, or a series of promises, and the events they set into motion. The story unfolds slowly, as fairy tales do, and it's a visual stunner. The sets and costumes are rich and vibrantly colored, and the music and cinematography were breathtakingly beautiful. The subtitles were actually poetic!
This film is pure fantasy and watching it is like watching a painting in motion. Forget realism -- it's a fairytale and must be approached with that in mind. It is not what I would describe as a martial arts film, although there is some stylized fighting a la Crouching Tiger. But unlike that film, I would probably be willing to allow my 8-year-old son to watch this film (with me alongside), as it was not graphically violent (certainly not like Lord of the Rings) and was such a magical fairytale. People who see this film expecting one of those classic martial arts films will be disappointed, because that's not what this film is about. I suspect the many negative comments on this board are from people who had other expectations; I had none when I saw this film and was utterly delighted.
I loved that it surprised me in how it ended, an ending that moved me to tears. This is a film I would love to own and watch again and again. I will definitely look for the soundtrack.