Ashes of Time Redux (1994)
Ashes of Time Redux (1994) 7/10
The first time i watched Wong Kar Wai’s 1994 masterpiece, i thought it was beautiful but plodding, poetic but pretentious. Rewatching the “Redux” version a few years later, i am once again impressed by the visual beauty of WKW’s creation. This time, i understand the film better, and perhaps it may be attributable to better editing in the Redux version. Not that the story makes any sense because it still doesn’t. But like a poem, and indeed most WKW films, it is more important to appreciate the feel and mood than to make sense of what it all means. Beautifully languid and possibly even zen, Ashes of Time is the only time wuxia flicks and existential will appear on the same sentence. Like a bottle of wine, Ashes of Time is a film that ages better with time and as you grow older you better understand the existential angst that underlies the film. The themes of memory, unrequited love and lost chances play out in a hazy, poetic canvas. What does it all mean? Is there a point to this film? Well, with Wong Kar Wai, the experience is more important than the destination.
