Friday, May 5 2006
The Promise (Wu ji) (2005)
There's a lesson here, about the seductions of wealth versus the purities of true love, but the film is less concerned with teaching it than laying out all the pieces and letting them fly.
Sunday, January 1 1995
The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
The Emperor and the Assassin, the latest film from Chinese director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) is another wonderful-looking period film, with an epic budget and running time, and a sizable cast of historical (and fictional) figures.

































