Kûkai

The story is a drag and could have been better...then this movie would have been awesome!..

This movie presents one of the most adorable camera work you will ever see. Actings are also quite amazing. The cgi is acceptable too but could be better.

However, the story is not rich enough or has not been told properly. You can clearly see that the director is trying hard to keep you on the edge of your seat but there is no enough material to do so.

So, overall, it worth a shot but it's not the best.

If you like magic and ilusion in a interest fable in a ancient China you will enjoy this movie.

Chen Kaige's best film since 21th century. As the biggest Chinese-Japanese co-production film ever, Yao Mao Zhuan is very different from the Hollywood cliches. I can feel the flow between each shot, just like traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. And the story structure is very interesting. It splits into two parts, these two parts are like mirrors, you can find same symbols, characters and plots in both sides. And all those things come together, make the magnificent Tang Dynasty comes alive. However, Chen Kaige is not satisfied in telling the greatness of Tang, but also the dark side, the politics and humanity.

Legend of the Demon Cat is a colourful Sino-Japanese fantasy movie. It follows a former Chinese government official and poet who teams up with a Japanese monk to investigate strange events at court leading to injuries, illnesses and deaths. The dynamic youngster and the calm intellectual soon realize that all those events are related to a vengeful cat. They need to figure out the secret behind the mysterious animal in order to stop further catastrophes.

This movie convinces on several levels. The costumes are colourful and eye-catching. The locations look diversified and elegant. The two different lead characters complete each other in a balanced way. The first half of the movie sets a mysterious tone but also has solid pace.

Things get worse in the dragging and disjointed second half. The second hour mostly consists of lengthy flashbacks and the two intriguing main characters simply become listeners or spectators. The story also becomes more predictable and one would have hoped for a more spectacular outcome.

In the end, this movie should please to fans of colourful fantasy movies and those interested in traditional Asian culture. The mysterious parts of the story vanish in the second half, the dramatic elements become predictable and the crime elements are replaced by complicated flashbacks. It's regrettable that a movie that showed much promise in its first half changes so drastically in its second half. The director and scriptwriter tried to experiment and innovate but a fluid pace and clearer structure would have been the better options in this case.