This is one of the most satisfying resolutions to a trilogy I have ever seen. Makes me recall the ending to THE WONDERFUL COUNTRY starring Bob Mitchum, where when you came to the ending you KNEW it was over. When the hero of the piece appeals for education over reward for martial prowess you have something special on your hands. The ending of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA III will stay with me for a long time.
The thing that stands out for me is the characters this time. I really don't want to say too much as that would spoil all the fun. The Dowager Empress reminds me of my INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL teacher Miss Gomez and my Cub Scout Den Mother Mrs. Dubose. I loved all the colors of the costumes and the masks. At times it was almost a comment on the spectacular martial arts fights and stunts, making them at times seem childish and cartoonish. The characters are every one of them painted with a broad brush, but it was exhilarating to see that Tsui Hark was relying very thoroughly on Chinese theatrical traditions and not going out of his way to cater to Western tastes and appetites. A great judgment call in my estimation because you really come to feel warmly for all the characters as though you've finally come to know them at the end.
I must say Rosamund Kwan comes across as more beautiful and glamorous in this third installment than ever before, and very nearly steals the show. Unlike a 'Bond Girl' whom we know will only be eye candy and 007's sexual conquest for a single adventure, we are now seeing Aunt 13 for the third time and the sense of chemistry and monogamy between her and Wong Fei-Hung is stronger than ever. I cannot easily remember where I have seen romantic character development across three movies like this.
Love the chaos of the climatic scene at the Lion Dance competition! It seems so intricate that you just know some parts of it required improvisation to tie up inevitable loose ends. It is wild and woolly, and filled with all kinds of color in motion; like a circus parade unraveling itself. You truly have no idea what is going to happen next or what direction it will be coming from, and you also have a sneaking suspicion that some of the actors feel this way as well, as they are just trying this out that way and then trying that out this way through the various takes. The choreography of this feels like something that would defy even Hitchcock's attempts at story-boarding although I cannot vouch for how true that might be. But that wordless comment '-what the hell is going on???!!-' definitely comes to mind to this viewer with thrilling, giddy glee. This seems so suggestive of the internal social and political turmoil that Chinese society must have been experiencing at this time.
Leave it to our hero Wong Fei-Hung to make sense out of all this somehow and bring order to this seemingly inexhaustible bedlam and melee. That he does indeed seem to do so and even gives the moral of the story to the audience in a way that is far from cheesy with nary a hair out of place in his Confucian reserve is a delight to behold. He marches away with polite indignation and we are called to stand in our hearts to a hero's anthem that exhorts us to improve ourselves every day.
Here at the end, you feel this is what Wong Fei-Hung means to the Chinese people. This is their culture hero who will always exhort them to educate themselves to be better than they are.
May I be excused?
The thing that stands out for me is the characters this time. I really don't want to say too much as that would spoil all the fun. The Dowager Empress reminds me of my INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL teacher Miss Gomez and my Cub Scout Den Mother Mrs. Dubose. I loved all the colors of the costumes and the masks. At times it was almost a comment on the spectacular martial arts fights and stunts, making them at times seem childish and cartoonish. The characters are every one of them painted with a broad brush, but it was exhilarating to see that Tsui Hark was relying very thoroughly on Chinese theatrical traditions and not going out of his way to cater to Western tastes and appetites. A great judgment call in my estimation because you really come to feel warmly for all the characters as though you've finally come to know them at the end.
I must say Rosamund Kwan comes across as more beautiful and glamorous in this third installment than ever before, and very nearly steals the show. Unlike a 'Bond Girl' whom we know will only be eye candy and 007's sexual conquest for a single adventure, we are now seeing Aunt 13 for the third time and the sense of chemistry and monogamy between her and Wong Fei-Hung is stronger than ever. I cannot easily remember where I have seen romantic character development across three movies like this.
Love the chaos of the climatic scene at the Lion Dance competition! It seems so intricate that you just know some parts of it required improvisation to tie up inevitable loose ends. It is wild and woolly, and filled with all kinds of color in motion; like a circus parade unraveling itself. You truly have no idea what is going to happen next or what direction it will be coming from, and you also have a sneaking suspicion that some of the actors feel this way as well, as they are just trying this out that way and then trying that out this way through the various takes. The choreography of this feels like something that would defy even Hitchcock's attempts at story-boarding although I cannot vouch for how true that might be. But that wordless comment '-what the hell is going on???!!-' definitely comes to mind to this viewer with thrilling, giddy glee. This seems so suggestive of the internal social and political turmoil that Chinese society must have been experiencing at this time.
Leave it to our hero Wong Fei-Hung to make sense out of all this somehow and bring order to this seemingly inexhaustible bedlam and melee. That he does indeed seem to do so and even gives the moral of the story to the audience in a way that is far from cheesy with nary a hair out of place in his Confucian reserve is a delight to behold. He marches away with polite indignation and we are called to stand in our hearts to a hero's anthem that exhorts us to improve ourselves every day.
Here at the end, you feel this is what Wong Fei-Hung means to the Chinese people. This is their culture hero who will always exhort them to educate themselves to be better than they are.
May I be excused?