User Reviews

Although good in design and in content, Clara Law somehow fails to invoke emotion or response from her audience due to lack of character depth.

The topics of betrayal and loyalty are confronted here, but neither are deeply explored by Law, who instead opts for visual grandeur in bloody battles and breathtaking backdrops. Andrew Lesnie's cinematography is an outstanding feast of colour and movement, with stunning scenery thrown in for good measure.

Wu Hsin-kuo does convince us of the struggle within to forgive an free himself of his past, and his performance goes some way to lending the film focus and strength. In worthy support is Joan Chen, who makes the most of her rather meaningless character. More enjoyable is Michael Lee as an hundred year old abbot whose wit serves him well.

Alas any true depth or searching, meaningful dialogue in Eddie Fong Ling-Ching an Lilian Lee's screenplay (based upon Lee's novella) is lost in Clara Law's all too grand approach which is visually stimulating yet intellectually void.

Monday, April 28, 1997 - Hoyts Croydon

This excellent film gives viewers an entry into some of China's religious cultural traditions--from the point of view of a very irreligious man. Beginning in a traditional Confucian setting, the film follows a successful military man as he finds himself at the mercy of the fickle politics that dominate the court of the T'ang Dynasty. Inadvertently manipulated into betraying some of the most fundamental values of Confucian virtue and filial piety, the main character is forced to go into hiding, taking refuge in a Buddhist monastary. Of course, "taking refuge" is a pun--for that is what it is called when a person converts to Buddhism--but for the central character it is quite literal.

As he continues to live in his new environment, the former general finds himself struggling with profound inner questions about the kind of life he has lead up until now. Throughout the course of the film, even as he continuously tries to flee his former life, he is forced to confront and deal with the consequences of his many past actions. He learns the truth of the Buddhist teachings as, one by one, all the things that he held dear--his family, his lover, his pride--are taken from him.

This is truly a sublime film that can speak to audiences on many levels: as beautiful cinema, as great art, as engrossing entertainment, and as an opportunity to reflect on some substantial questions.

(P.S. This film also contains the most visually stunning sex scene I have ever seen.)

In addition to being a superb film--with stunning visuals, an uplifting plot, and superior performances all around--this film also provides audiences with a wonderful window into the history of the development of Chinese Buddhism.

The main character's own personal spiritual development actually parallels several centuries of Chinese history--what a subtle genius this director is!! As we follow the General's progress---from a superficial adherence to the rules and forms of Buddhist practice, through his initial explorations of Pure Land doctrine, and finally on to his confrontation with his own inner flaws as he truly embraces Chan's paradoxical koans and teachings---we also follow the forms of traditional Buddhist development from 4th through 9th century China.

This is not only a cinematic triumph, it is also a spiritual gift to the rest of us. I use it in all of the Buddhism courses I teach.

Now, Margret Pomenez, one of SBS's movie critics, says that this movie has an unforgettable sex scene. This is a shame because I was expecting something incredibly erotic, and what I got was a monk literally screwing a woman simply because he had not had sex in a long time. What it was was him falling to temptation rather than the beautiful act that occurs between two people in love. I guess that this is the whole point of the movie, and it was at its climax, but there was much more to this movie than a monk succumbing to his lust.

Temptation of a Monk is set in 1626 in the Tang Dynasty and is focused on General Shi. He witnesses his emperor overthrown by his brother but is forbidden to seek revenge, so he flees to a monastery with some devoted followers to hide from his enemies. Unfortunately his enemies seem to always find him. The first monastery that he goes to is farcical as his followers, even though they become monks, behave in a very unmonklike manner, while Shi cannot handle being commanded by a boy. After he witnesses the princess and his lover murdered by his enemies, he flees to another monastery high in the mountains were he is cut off from all that is the real world. It is not until a woman who is dying comes to the monastery, and after her life is saved, she decides to stay. Only after Shi succumbs to his lust does he realise that she is in fact his enemy and has led the emperor's soldiers to the monastery.

What impressed me about this movie was the beautiful cinematography. The story is hard to follow, and the fact that subtitles are there, the following movie is even harder. Despite that it is a beautifully made movie in which the costumes are beautifully constructed and the scenes marvellously put together. Unlike Pomenaz, I will not praise the sex scene, but rather praise the story of a man trying to flee from his enemies while taking up a lifestyle of abstention, which he is not used to. It is the psychology of Shi that makes this movie great, not the sex that he has with a woman at the end.