3/5 Decent, but fans of Zhang Ziyi will want to look elsewhere
  by phoong dan (International)
I'm a Zhang Ziyi fan which is what prompted me to watch this movie. I've seen most of her films and I liked her acting roles in Rush Hour 2 and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the best and although I didn't think her acting was quite that special in Hero or Lovers (AKA: The House of Flying Daggers)those were both cinematic gems that were simply beautiful movies to watch and her natural beauty added to those movies. This, however, I didn't feel was one of her better movies. It seems at times that she is over-acting in the film. Plus, the film is drab and grey and dirty and rainy most of the movie and she is often wearing drab clothing and at times is dirty-looking in the film as well. Of course, there is a reason for that due to the setting of the film (occupied Shanghai by the Japanese invaders) and her job as a factory worker and later in a hospital. However, if you are watching this movie simply hoping to catch Ziyi in some nice clothes or lookin' her best, this movie isn't it!

On the other hand, the story itself is pretty good and entertaining though the movie is quite long at 2 hours and 15 minutes and moves along a bit slowly, though there are some good action scenes as well. There's some interesting and shocking real film scenes at the end of the film that show Japanese soldiers burying people alive and shooting captives in the back of the head, so don't miss that! It's about the last 5 minutes of the film.

Overall, a decent movie that I would say has some interesting elements to it along with some good action scenes, but I personally found it too long and slow-moving to allow me to rate it higher. If you are considering watching the movie as a Zhang Ziyi fan I'd say pass on this one and watch some of her other aforementioned films.

3/5 Poor Quality Transfer
  by Elyon (Mesilla, New Mexico)
Palm Pictures DVD represents either a poor transfer, or use of degraded film stock. Therefore, if you wish to watch this moody "art" film, I would recommend you rent it from Netflix rather than waste money on this sub-par DVD reproduction.

4/5 Brilliant
  by Martial Arts Damsel (Cypress, Texas United States)
Brilliant story of how love stuggles to grow in harsh and blistering conditions. The tale is not one told in a straightforward manner. This is what alleviates any boredom that may seemingly occur due to the somewhat slow pace. Yet Zhang Ziyi shines in all the chaos....quite a different character from the one she played in "Road Home". If the viewer is not accustomed to asian cinema then they may not get this movie.

5/5 Shanghai in the 1930s: Love & Fate Collide
  by Erika Borsos (Gulf Coast of FL, USA)
This film is deeply intense. There is often silence that is thick with meaning. The camera often tells much of the story, honing in on the actors and actresses faces ... the spartan rooms ... the city scapes/ scenes ... the commotion of workers going to and from work ... the riots, protests and rebellions ... the crowds of people at the railroad station in Shanghai. The film begins in Shanghi in 1928 where Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi) a Chinese young lady has a love affair with Itami (Toru Nakamura) a Japanese young man whose father is part of a Japanese delegation who lived in Shanghai, seeking political opportunity to destabilize the region. Times are tense, the atmosphere is ripe for political change and explosive events ...Itami is called back to Japan to serve in the military and their brief but very passionate love affair is cut short.

The film is impressionistic and surreal in how it portrays events and relationships. There are clandestine organizations at work, and it is not often clear who is involved in what until some complicated twist and turn in the plot occurs to reveal the truth. Early in the film, Cynthia's brother is ambushed by a Japanese underground group. He is murdered before her eyes. This causes her to join the "Deep Purple" a clandestine Chinese revolutionary group who try to bring about justice for China and eliminate the Japanese threat.

Zhang Ziyi does an outstanding performance in this serious role. After witnessing her brother's murder, she takes on a false identity, Hui Deng, a nurse who works at Marion Hospital. Hers is a stellar performance along with Itami played by Toru Nakamura. Hui Deng participates in an assassination at the railroad station where Szeto, a Chinese agent of Deep Purple, loses his lady love, accidentally killed in the crossfire. He is also given a briefcase by mistake which puts him in the middle of some very serious problems. Szeto becomes heavily embroiled in the activities of Deep Purple against the Japanese but he falls into a trap which puts his life at risk. He is in a very precarious position. He makes a deal, it saves his life but ulitimately because of the direction he went ... he ends up losing it.

Itami returns to Shanghai to take over as the leader of the Japanese movement. He is replacing Mr. Yoshikawa who is being recalled to Japan. Itami is managing the upheaval and creating more dissension and rioting, through his spy network and underground operations. The Japanese want to control Shanghai. Cynthia again enters Itami's life and becomes personally involved renewing their love affair but with ulterior motives. However, Itami is not who he used to be and neither is Cynthia the same person she was. Unknown to Itami, she is now an assassin and revolutionary. Itami asks Cynthia to return to Tokyo with him, he even arranges for legal authorization with his boss. Itami and Cynthia attend a party at the Japanese Club, where they dance to a very haunting and beautiful Chinese tune, called " A Garden Bridge". The events which transpire at the party are jaw-dropping. The twists and turns of the plot are unpredictable and very satisfying. The ending will astonish the viewer ... At the very end of the film, there is actual black and white film footage of the Japanese invasion of Nanking around 1932 which brings *full* closure on the film. This is a most astonishing complex story with exceptionally artistic cinematography and great acting. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]


3/5 Noir in Shanghai: Beautiful Period Romance, Confusing Storytelling
  by Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan)
To enjoy the Chinese-French film `Purple Butterfly,' some patience is required. To follow the story was hard for me (and I am a Japanese who knows the historical background of the film), but once you understand what is going on, you see the merits of this period romance. First, remember the following four characters.

Zhang Ziyi is Ding Hui/Cynthia, a Chinese girl whose brother is a member of one underground organization protesting against the Japanese invasion. The time is set in 1928, and the place is northern China, then called Manchuria. But one tragic thing happens to her brother, and she is also drawn into the activity of the organization.

Toru Nakamura, Japanese actor, plays Itami a Japanese whose father works as an interpreter in China. But young Itami must leave this country and his love Cynthia because he was drafted into the military service by the Japanese army. Three years later, Itami comes back to Shanghai as Japanese military officer, who had been trained for espionage in China. Now Itami meets Cynthia again in this city, but this time Cynthia's love seems to have a hidden agenda for she is meetig her new lover Xie Ming (Yuanzheng Feng).

In addition to the main story above, there is a sub-plot. Lie Ye (`Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress') plays Situ, a young, ordinary Chinese man. He and Yiling (Bingbing Li) are innocent sweethearts, but when Situ is mistaken for someone else at the crowded station, a tragic thing happens.

[Noir in China] The fates of the characters are closely intertwined with the film's complicated plot. This film can be called a romance, but it would be more correct to call it a noir film. The images themselves are beautiful, and the production designs are realistic, but the murky photography and the shaky camera may not be your taste. Though there are shooting scenes, and you can see Zhang Ziyi shooting a gun - far cry from the image we associate with her (oh, and let's forget `Rush Hour 2,' shall we?) - the sequences are sometimes confusing, and probably that is one of the reasons for the general complaint about the film.

Whatever your reaction may be, the film proves that Zhang Ziyi is an immensely gifted actress, but I am not sure if her acting here is her best. But to me, though the time allotted to her character was not long enough, Bingbing Li as young telephone operator is more impressive. There is one brief but memorable scene, in which Bingbing Li quietly sits in a streetcar as if unaware of the riotous street outside. The contrast between the two worlds is represented in this short sequence, and in the middle of the battles and the deaths there is a woman who is clearly in love. Bingning Li literally becomes the image of love, which is too fragile in the time of war.

Writer/Director Lou Ye succeeds in creating such remarkable sequences resonant with the film's serious themes, but the jumbling of the time order and the confusing relations between the characters often do harm to them. `Purple Butterfly' is for the viewers who can be patient with the slow-moving and complicated story. It will be rewarding experience only after you put the pieces in the right places.