Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ashes of Time Redux


Wong Kar-wai's re-edit of his 1994 Chinese period drama centers around Ou-yang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who lives on the edge of a desert eking out a livelihood by acting as a middleman. He matches his clients with the right type of services, be it a bodyguard or assassin! A wide array of characters sift across his timescape each fleeting as the desert sand. They all seem to project a sense of loss causing them to seek the past and regret the future.  Kar-wai in his usual meandering style, tries to stich the disparate storylines together. It his failure to do so cleanly that makes the film endearing and magical.

Rating: * * +

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