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Ashes of Time Redux
Sony Pictures Classics

Ashes of Time Redux reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 69 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.2 out of 10
based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for some violence

Starring Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jacky Cheung, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung

The film is set in five parts, five seasons that are part of the Chinese almanac. The story takes place in the jianghu, the world of the martial arts. Ouyang Feng has lived in the western desert for some years. He left his home in White Camel Mountain when the woman he loved chose to marry his elder brother rather than him. Instead of seeking glory, he ends up as an agent. When people come to him with a wish to eliminate someone who has wronged them, he puts them in touch with a swordsman who can do the job. (Sony Picture Classics)


GENRE(S): Action  
WRITTEN BY: Louis Cha (novel)
Kar Wai Wong
 
DIRECTED BY: Kar Wai Wong  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: March 3, 2009 
Theatrical: October 10, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Hong Kong | China 
LANGUAGE(S): Mandarin | Cantonese 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

89
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Dreamlike, disjointed, and possessed of a stunningly complex sensual and narrative poetry that may confound audiences not familiar with Chinese director Wong's defining stylistic tropes, Ashes of Time Redux is, simply, one of the most gorgeous films ever made.
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
For the love of all things sensual and mysterious, see this one on a big screen.
Read Full Review
80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
"Ashes" is glorious and ultimately wrenching, but it's a tough journey.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post John Anderson
Deliriously beautiful movie.
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80
Village Voice Michelle Orange
Wittily, earnestly, gorgeously sets up the paradox he has returned to throughout his career--that of romantic memory as both scourge and succor.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's a little visually precious and obscure but still a marvelously wistful film of regret and retreat, in which even the magic wine of forgetfulness erases only the memories, not the pain.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
"Ashes of Time" was always more a work of philosophy than pure entertainment, and a decade and a half later it still is.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Windblown, with a sage and playful Zen vibe, Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time Redux is a color-saturated, slo-mo martial arts piece about time, memory, love, regret, betrayal.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Ashes of Time Redux is primarily a sensory experience that deserves to be seen on as big a screen as possible.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Strange and beautiful and transfixing and confusing, it's quite the sight - martial-arts fans may find themselves disappointed, but Wong Kar-wai addicts will be delighted.
Read Full Review
75
Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
One man's befuddlement is another's awe at the ineffability of time, and from either perspective, this is a spectacle not soon forgotten, even if never understood.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post V.A. Musetto
The film has all the visual flourishes we expect of Doyle and Wong, and they're reason enough to see Ashes of Time Redux. Just don't expect to make sense of the plot.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Reyhan Harmanci
Elliptical, sweeping, lovely and thoroughly confusing.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Yet for all Ashes' frustrations, it's still a gorgeous piece of filmmaking.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
As in the original version, the fights are outweighed by existential angst and Buddhist introspection, but the sequence in which a blind swordsman (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) takes on an army of thieves is still gangbusters.
Read Full Review
60
New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Only in its final scenes do the usual WKW themes emerge in full bloom, but purists shouldn't miss it.
Read Full Review
50
The Hollywood Reporter Peter Brunette
Martial-arts lovers may find it too arty, and art-film lovers, Wong's international fan base, may find it too generic and too violent.
Read Full Review
50
Variety Derek Elley
The temptation of artists to fiddle with their earlier works brings predictably mixed results in Ashes of Time: Redux.
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50
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I enjoyed Ashes of Time Redux, up to a point. It's great-looking, and the characters all know what they would, although we do not.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Ashes of Time Redux remains a hermetic and rather frustrating work, dotted by lonely, windblown figures dwarfed by the sand dunes of western China.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Joey L gave it a0:
This movie is bad. You know those movies that are so bad, they're actually good? This isn't one of them. This is just bad. Wait, I take that back. It's worse, because it tempts you to keep watching, seducing you with the taunting condescension of "watch me 'cause this is real art... bitch." Sadly it's not art... it's barely f-art. It's so agonizingly slow, confusing and boring that it's like staring at a pretty question mark. I lasted about 50 min before I had to shut it off. I feel like I just held my breath for 2 minutes for putting up with it that long.

Kevin S. gave it a1:
This film is one of the worst movies I've ever seem. What a waste of time and money. I'm just glad it wasn't longer. I view a lot of movies of all kinds, and keep an open mind, but bad is bad.

Jeffrey Y. gave it a10:
The best movie from Wong Kar Wai. A highly underrated film and this remake was although I feel unnecessary, it did help give this film a second chance. By no means is this a "martial arts" film like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, or Fearless. It is about unrequited love. It is about life. It is about fear. It is about death. What is life? What is happiness? Sadness? Morever, what are all of these without memory? Is having a good memory good or bad? Is it better to be simple or complicated? What are rules? What should a man's life's purpose be? It is so much and all of these questions, themes, etc weave into the story so well. And to know the backstory behind these characters (fans of Louis Cha's Shooting Eagle or Condor Heroes books), it is an extra plus, but I think this is still a great drama/love story nonetheless. Nothing short of a 10. The cinematography by doyle, the acting from Hong Kong's greatest actors Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, etc.. it marked a turn of an era in Hong Kong film BEFORE all the talent went to hollywood. Amazing amazing soundtrack. Up there with the likes of Braveheart.. so memorable.. dont take my word for it. Go see this movie. I can;t wait for the remastered bluray.

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