WARNING! In order to comment on the acting of the female lead I will quickly retell the story here and some may consider this summary as a spoiler!
This film tells the story of an innocent girl who is destined to become one of the emperor´s concubines. At first she suffers a lot from the loss of innocence and the intrigues of the other concubines but in the course of time she becomes less and less scrupulous and finally is impregnated by the emperor and thus becomes his wife - the empress of China. However, her "career" has corrupted her once innocent soul and so, after the emperor dies she rules the land with terror.
Chingmy Yau´s acting is terrific! In the beginning one simply has to like her character and in the end she becomes so fiendish one is tempted to believe she is actually possessed. And her acting is believable all the time. In addition to Yau´s wonderful performance the costumes and set pieces are just gorgeous. Summarizing all of the above I can only conclude that "Lover of the Last Empress" is well written, beautifully photographed and wonderfully acted. Don´t miss it!
This film tells the story of an innocent girl who is destined to become one of the emperor´s concubines. At first she suffers a lot from the loss of innocence and the intrigues of the other concubines but in the course of time she becomes less and less scrupulous and finally is impregnated by the emperor and thus becomes his wife - the empress of China. However, her "career" has corrupted her once innocent soul and so, after the emperor dies she rules the land with terror.
Chingmy Yau´s acting is terrific! In the beginning one simply has to like her character and in the end she becomes so fiendish one is tempted to believe she is actually possessed. And her acting is believable all the time. In addition to Yau´s wonderful performance the costumes and set pieces are just gorgeous. Summarizing all of the above I can only conclude that "Lover of the Last Empress" is well written, beautifully photographed and wonderfully acted. Don´t miss it!