Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Clevercell Very disappointing...

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Paul Childs *Spoilers* I've seen a few reviews carrying the opinion that Cynthia wasn't in love with Itami but Xie Ming based on the final love seen, but it doesn't quite seem to fit. They talk about it being a year since they had a fling and it is expressed as being a physical thing. He sure doesn't cut it as a lover and for her sex is more a celebration of being alive in the midst of tragedy. There is however a moment of emotional intimacy but not such that I can conclusively tell if it expresses feelings of the moment or if there's anything more. The film hints at more emotional interaction existing with Szeto. Cynthia seems to be torn between her feelings for Itami, the ideology of the group, and her distaste for violence used by it (shooting of Szeto early on). Her desire to use him seems a thin veil for her compassionate side. I think she is trying to hold her cards and has feelings all round (Itami re: memories of an age of innocence in childhood, Xie Ming re: her ideological side, maybe even Szeto for having both shared the loss of a loved one) In the end any love she has for Itami seems to be made void as after he discloses that Japan has successfully invaded, her going with him to Tokyo could no longer be made as an act of love but as an act of self preservation. She also sees the same coldness in Itami that has distanced her from Xie Ming. Enter Szeto and we have the traditional Chinese love tragedy wrapped up. I feel the film didn't say much but left a lot open to interpretation and speculation. It can leave a viewer with any number of impressions based on how they see and identify with the feelings portrayed. Some may see it as complex, others straightforward, but all can take away something from it. My preference would be to have a more complete picture by filling in the back story rather than just centring around Cynthia and Itami, but it did tell a good story in a natural way.

Giovanni Fazio Many have commented on how confusing the film's plot is, and I agreed on first viewing. A second viewing, however, shows everything quite intricately and deftly and =coherently= composed. People are used to films telling them things with words, which a visual medium doesn't necessarily have to do. The images give you everything here, provided you're paying attention, which shouldn't be too much for a director to ask. The first 20 minutes play out almost like a silent movie, as Lou uses the most delicately suggestive fragments to introduce us to the star-crossed lovers Itami (Toru Nakamura) and Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi). Zhang, in my opinion, deserves every close-up she gets.

mpower1112 I couldn't disagree with your previous reviewer more. Purple Butterfly is a piece of majestic film-making, the first thriller I can remember since the days of Orson Welles with emotional depth and a real sense of history. The direction and cinematography are superb. Look at the railroad station sequence and the camera movement in what seems like the longest take since Antonioni's The Passenger. It is a virtuoso moment in the film. Admittedly Western audience will find the long silences and long contemplations of the actor's faces unusual, if not unsettling, but they contribute mightily to the mood and enable the actors to communicate without words. Also, it's not easy for a Westerner to distinguish between Chinese actors (sorry, but to this Westerner they did tend to look somewhat alike). Adding to the confusion is the mixture of flashbacks and forward-backs a la Tarantino. But all this just made me want to see the film a second time now that I have an inkling of what it is about. I intend to do exactly that tonight and then I'll try to find the DVD. ( I have only seen this film on cable). Also, be warned it is a very sad film. But thank God it doesn't have the usual tacked on American style optimistic ending. ( See True Romance, speaking of Tarantino.)

resvon I read comments about this being the best Chinese movie ever. Perhaps if the only Chinese movies you've seen contained no dialogue, long drawn-out far-away stares and silences, and hack editing, then you're spot on.Complicated story-line? Hardly. Try juvenile and amateurish. Exquisite moods and haunting memories? Hardly. Try flat-out boring and trite.This was awful. I could not wait for it to be over. Particularly when the best lines in the movie consist of "How are you? I'm fine. Are you sure? Yes." Wow! What depth of character. I guess the incessant cigarette smoking was supposed to speak for them.As a huge fan of many Chinese, Japanese and Korean films, I was totally disappointed in this. Even Zhang's sentimentally sappy "The Road Home" was better than this.