Xue guan yin

It is not your usual movie, I had to watch twice to understand the plot. Maybe, I'm slow, but there were so many going on. But once you get it, you will find that there is deeper meaning in each scene. It needs a meticulous heart to enjoy.

The story is captivating, multi-layered characters with many intentions and dark. It has everything one would want in a mystery/drama/slow burn....but the attempts at being artsy made it super hard to follow. The all-knowing character that sings on side scenes at major plot points, odd moments of voice overs and flashbacks mixed with hallucinations makes it quite hard to fully grasp what is happening. I felt the story is strong on it's own as the actors did a fantastic job, the other elements-although innovative-distracted from the major plot.

Overall, it was engaging but could have been so much better.

Ps. I felt the actress Wen Chen Ling (who plays Lin pian pain) was underrated in her portrayal. Watch her in the 9th precinct and Teenage Psychic...Wen Chen Ling is like a Chamaeleon, she does each role so well.

I'm afraid this movie is too China, too post-Japan Tawanese, too true for those distant hidden society not replaced by modern society (which frankly is the western way). It looks absurd, but too true.... Can't say we are lucky or unlucky to live by the international standard now. When watching it, i feel both familiar and strange, well we are going to lose a lot of Chinese style scheme (and bond), good? bad? Can't say. So, the typical 'I'm doing this for your sake' appeared again! how many Chinese family is using this to kill their children?

"The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful" depicts three shrewd women, unfolds a murder case and reveals dark politics. The Taiwanese writer-director Ya-che Yang is surprisingly ambitious as he tries to go deep into the discussion about humanity in a cynical way. And he succeeds in the sense that he won the Best Picture in the Golden Horse. From a more critical point of view, the film lacks some basic elements in a mystery thriller and does not deserves the award. The performance of the Hong Kong veteran Kara Hui is stunning and proves that she is one of the best Chinese actresses of all time.

I do not recall having seen a Taiwanese movie before, very nice and well crafted movie.