Rent Ashes of Time Redux (2008)

Stunning - Ashes of Time Redux review by sb

FILM & REVIEW https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109688/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_ashes%2520of%2520time Wong Kar-Wai’s haunting visually stunning martial arts movie has Cheung as Feng a master swordsman for hire who waits for people who require someone to be killed call on him. He also encounters various other fighters passing though some of whom he engages with - others leave the next morning. There is no real narrative structure as such more like chance encounters over a year including a brother and sister who turn out to be the same female person, a peasant girl who seeks her brothers killers and a village who needs protection from some maurading bandits. We also discover Feng couldn’t commit to the woman he loves (Maggie Cheung) who marries his brother to both of theirs bitter regret. None of this is at apparent at first and the film is more a shifting tonal poem with musings on love, honour and regret. There are flashback sequences and voice over narrations although it’s not always clear whose memories we are seeing or even which character is telling the story at each point. It’s shot by Chris Doyle who was Wong’s regular cameraman and each frame is like an impressionist painting - it’s just breathtakingly beautiful. You do need to work at it as it can be quite difficult to follow but there is much reward to be had - 4/5