Chinese actress Gong Li, Chinese director Zhang Yimou, Hong Kong
actor Chow Yun-Fat and his wife attended the world premiere of
their new film Curse of the Golden Flower, written and
directed by Zhang Yimou, on the Closing Night of the AFI Fest 2006
in Hollywood, California November 12.
However, contrary to praise from China's movie reviewers and
executives of Sony Pictures Classics, a number of foreign critics
weren't overly impressed by the movie. For example, Kirk Honeycutt
of the Hollywood Reporter has said that "Some critics have
worried about his obsession with visual dazzle and digitized
effects, but the stories and fights in the first two films more
than measured up to the sumptuous design. Curse, though,
feels disappointingly inert."
The movie is set to hit Chinese screens on December 14 and US
cinemas eight days later. It is the Chinese entry for the
foreign-language Oscar, while Zhang and Gong will compete for Best
Director and Best Leading Actress respectively.
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(China News Service, China.org.cn by Zhang Rui November 14,
2006)
