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A Woman, A Gun and A Noodle Shop
Friday, February 26, 2010 2:54 PM
 I rarely catch Chinese films in a cinema, but whenever I do, they usually impress the socks off me. Today, I watched this. AND BY GOD, IT WAS OUTSTANDING.
Zhang Yimou is a genius, using only a six-member cast to portray the storyline of avarice, marriage and pure malicious intent. It started off hilarious and eye-catching, the sets were great, the characters sincere and endearing. The lines were superb, everyone in the cinema was laughing.
Then the story begins its descent into deep, dark waters. The main murder plot leads to brutal assassinations and characters start to bear murderous intent for their own purposes, each different from the next. The tussle between the characters who are each trying to steal from, assist, cover-up and silence one another was enthralling to watch. Not to mention that the cinematic surround sound only served to magnify the cries of despair, gunshots and panicked panting and force them down your ear canals. I thought my poor heart was literally going to stop.
Weather and light were extremely well-employed à la a literary masterpiece. It looked to me like it was put together for a theatre production, not a cinematic one. The use of boldly-coloured costumes were very symbolic, adding onto the captivating performances of the actors. The characters themselves were three-dimensional, their relationships genuine and almost heart-breaking. While I was watching it, one word that came to mind was "layered". The film started off clean and smooth, then the different layers started to peel off, and the audience discovers, piece by piece, the motives of each character and the domino effect that one murder causes, thus tearing off another rough-edged sheath from the plot, finally exposing the pulsating climax and ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of betrayal, murder and tragedy, full of suspense and tension. (I just secretly wish that it was a very good literature text) Director Zhang has crafted this production so ultimately fascinating and indelible, the plot wound tightly and held up by just six people, that I could watch, and relish, times over.
  
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