A Chinese bodice-ripper, this is the latest martial-arts epic from writer-director Zhang Yimou. Curse is an emptier visual feast than his other films, but you still won’t be able to take your eyes off it. As it details the plotting that take place among the royal family members of the later Tang Dynasty, Curse throbs with sensuality. There is plenty of cleavage on display – the emperor (Chow Yun Fat) seems to have decreed that corsets be worn by every woman in the palace, including the empress (Gong Li) – but most of the passion is communicated through pulsating colors and ornate tapestries. (The set design seems equally inspired by Willy Wonka and Donald Trump.)
