If I hadn’t been told this was a Zhang Yimou picture from someone I trust, I’d never have believed it. Sure Yimou has toned down his bombastic style as of recent with the Blood Simple remake (A Simple Noodle Story), but even that trailer showed signs of Yimou’s signature flair for color and symmetry.
Granted this trailer spends most of its time focusing on the lead actors’ faces over and over, but I spot almost nothing that points to the usual auteur style Zhang Yimou generally represents. You might say that he’s sort of returned to his roots here, but honestly even Yimou’s earlier work has elements of his signature style that later would flood the screen in films such as Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower. So again, this seems like a complete departure for him.
That isn’t to say this is a bad thing; simply an observation. And to be honest this trailer (sort of subtitled) doesn’t really give me much of an idea of what to expect anyway. I’ll see anything this director makes but I want to see a little more from this film as this (probably not “official”) trailer is just sort of meh.
