Ashes of Time Redux (2008)
81%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 12 nominations
Wong Kar Wai’s redux, with a few slight changes from his 1994 classic, is a feast for the eyes, if a little difficult to follow
If you’re looking for a movie with a clear plot and easy-to-follow narrative, Ashes of Time Redux is not for you. But if you’re in the mood for some mesmerizing movement and stunning visuals, then buckle up and get ready for a trip to an art gallery. Wong Kar-Wai’s director’s cut may be impenetrable, convoluted, and cryptic, but it’s also undeniably beautiful. Plus, it’s shorter than previous versions, so you won’t have to suffer through as much confusion. Just sit back, relax, and let the kicks to your head and heart wash over you.
Production Company(ies)
House Productions, Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London Wing Nut Films,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexuality, brief nudity, and language
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 2008 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 3, 2009
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jacky Cheung, Li Bai, Brigitte Lin, directed by Kar-Wai Wong, written by Kar-Wai Wong, action, Chinese, R-rated, Wong Kar Wai, Sony Pictures Classics, box office gross $173.5K, reviewed by Andrea Gronvall, Roger Ebert, Michael Phillips, Brian Tallerico, Peter Howell, David Harris, Brandy McDonnell, Josh Larsen, Amy Taubin, Sonny Bunch, Rob Boylan, confusing, visually stunning, martial arts, drama, love, betrayal, swordsman, bounty hunters, horse thieves, magic wine, blind swordsman, revenge, forgiveness, past, present, future, gender, identity, season, feast for the eyes, difficult to follow, archetypes, art gallery, loss, loneliness, beauty, slow-moving, action-packed, drama-filled
Worldwide gross: $5,621,971
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,642,432
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,046
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 833,417
US/Canada gross: $1,110,509
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,509,611
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,100
US/Canada opening weekend: $43,040
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $58,508
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,141
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,515,706
Production budget ranking: 1,694
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,124,207
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$6,997,482
ROI to date (est.): -48%
ROI ranking: 1,671
Leslie Cheung – Ouyang Feng
Maggie Cheung – Brother’s Wife
Carina Lau – Peach Blossom
Tony Leung Chiu Wai – Blind Swordsman
Tony Ka Fai Leung – Huang Yaoshi
Director(s)
Kar-Wai Wong
Writer(s)
Kar-Wai Wong
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 12 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (87) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (19)
For this director’s cut, Wong has trimmed several minutes and reorganized the narrative according to the passage of seasons, though the plot is still impenetrable.
November 14, 2008
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Wong Kar-Wai doesn’t supply much of a plot with a narrative engine to pull us through.
November 14, 2008 | Rating: 2/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Even drastically altered as it has been in Ashes of Time Redux, the strengths and weaknesses of the film are the same.
November 14, 2008
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever
TOP CRITIC
I struggled to engage with the archetypes contained within the images, even with all that meticulously restored golden-yellow sand.
November 13, 2008 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Wong Kar Wai seems considerably more out of his depth than other Chinese filmmakers who have slummed in the martial arts genre. This can’t compare to Chen Kaige’s The Emperor and the Assassin or Yimou Zhang’s House of Flying Daggers.
November 13, 2008 | Rating: 2/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The kicks are more to the head and heart than to the body.
October 31, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
Convoluted, cryptic and confusing, but it looks and sounds amazing.
October 2, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
Without a comprehensible plot, Ashes of Time Redux feels like a waste of time.
August 13, 2018 | Rating: 2/4
Brandy McDonnell
The Oklahoman
…mostly this is a movie that wants to linger on mesmerizing movement.
February 29, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
If Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time Redux (2008) is not the most beautiful movie ever made, then at least its beauty is sufficient to obliterate, for the moment, the memory of all others.
June 1, 2015
Amy Taubin
Artforum
It’s hard to recommend a film as frustratingly inaccessible as this one, but if you go into the theater expecting a trip to an art gallery, you might be pleasantly surprised.
August 30, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/4
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times
Redux clocks in at a slightly shorter running time than any of the previous versions Wong has offered. The tighter edit is a better fit, but ultimately, it’s not enough.
March 12, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
Rob Boylan
Orlando Weekly…
Plot
Almost forty years ago, a young girl of fourteen has sex, gets pregnant, and gives her baby up for adoption. Fast-forwarding to the present day, we meet three very different women, each of whom struggles to maintain control of their lives. There’s Elizabeth, a smart and successful lawyer who uses her body to her advantage. Any time she feels that she doesn’t have the upper hand, and cannot control the situation, she uses her sex appeal – whether that be starting a romance with her boss when she suspects he is trying to start one himself, or finding some way to control her overly friendly neighbor and husband. Karen, meanwhile, is a bitter health care professional who obviously has a lot of heart but never shows it. She gave up a daughter at the age of fourteen (wonderfully shown rather than told, she is the young girl and mother of Elizabeth), and has never gotten over it – her bitterness inspiring her to lash out at everyone around her – even the gentle man at work who is undeniably drawn to her. Finally, Lucy is a woman who has failed to conceive with her husband, so she turns to adoption to make the family she desires.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Leslie Cheung plays the role of Ouyang Feng, a fallen swordsman who is afraid of love after having his heart broken.
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