This is one of the most visually stunning films you will ever see - don't miss it!The director creates a sense of continuous movement that provides an arpeggio to the growing romance between the two lead characters - or is it a romance? Only you can decide

I don't know how many of the reviewers of this movie realize just how difficult some of the visual effects the director managed to pull off really are. I'm currently an art student and I've helped in the filming of more than a few movies in my life and I've seen more movies than most people have even heard of and yet this movie has stood near the top of the list of my favorite films since I saw it. Now maybe I'm biased because this movie has more emotion depicted in one scene of swordplay than movies like the Notebook. If you missed it the first time through you were obviously reading a book by its cover because its story is told through expressions and movements of the characters not through the traditional blunt, in your face talking which can sometimes neglect the need for visuals in a movie. Half the movies that have come out in the past five years wouldn't be worth a damn except for their dialog. They would be better as books on tape. This movie is all about the visuals and how they blend with an amazing score. Very few directors can pull off emotions through pure visual splendor and music. How this has a barely above a five rating is disgusting. I recommend this movie to anyone. They say the plot is thin but if your just basing that off the dialog you've missed three quarters of the story. Watch the actors body language and how the music builds upon it.

You're probably wondering what the heck my title means.There's a memorable scene where the soundtrack features a hard rock thrash song and a quiet piano sonata ...playing simultaneously! How the audio engineer pulled this off without it sounding like a train wreck is beyond me. But you can distinctly make out the two clashing pieces of music.The whole movie is much like this phenomenon. First of all, it boldly crosses the line between "art house" and "martial arts flick". If you're looking exclusively for either, you'll be disappointed. But if you're sharp enough to follow the jumps, you'll love this picture.Almost every other reviewer has criticized the plot for being too thin. I think they're missing the point. The classic Japanese film SEVEN SAMURAI can also be said to have a weak plot, if you're get right down to it. But the point is not to look for an intricate Alfred Hitchcock weave; the point is to enjoy how expertly the visuals can bring a fairy tale to life. And this is a great fairy tale, at times leaving you wondering what is a dream and what is real.And then suddenly you're holding your sides because you're laughing so hard at the comic routines. Like I said, this film mixes it all. You gotta be quick to keep up.Visually, I can't praise this film enough. Vivid colours, smooth camera motion, graceful movements (to the point where a mob scene looks choreographed) and gorgeous sets give this movie a fantasy quality that few directors have been able to achieve. And the computer animation (if even there was much at all) was not noticeable, unlike a lot of modern films that use CGI for everything. Instead, the director uses very creative lighting and shadows to accentuate the swordplay. At times it looks like a Star Wars light sabre duel, but so realistic.Enjoy this film for what it is. Expect nothing, drop all preconceived notions, and I guarantee you'll have a great time.Oh, I also thought I'd mention... no nudity or gratuitous sex, no blood splattered across the screen, no animal cruelty. Fun for everyone.

3 axioms:1. Cinema in its history has a special moment during the 'past 5 plus next 5 years' decade. Genre-art film and feature-documentary film categorization confuses and brings us hybrid products. In these circumstances experimental way may give best results. 2. Korea is a passage between China and Japan. Far East Asia Metaphysics culturally followed the same way. Today there is a new moment. War choreographed and kitsch accepted movies of Japan and China is recomposed by Korea. This is an experimental way. 3. Directors (genre or auteur) may not have historical consciousness (Hegelian indifference), ie may not know what they do.3 interpretations:1. Tango is firstly used in a kung-fu film, but not in butoh (Japanese modern dance). Tango is a novum element as music, as action, and as thought. It strangely conjugates with Far East Asia Metaphysics of body (ie war, sex, cure, pray, and dance together). An experimental step, but strictly match in this film. 2. To watch the war of a man and a woman may bring orgasm to a man or a woman. This is natural and normal. But this war may not will end till even after post-humanism. This film shows it. 3. Form and concept may not be synthesized or praxisized, but may still give us a novum film. This is such an example. But the director may not know it or wants to do it.