The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman (English Subtitled) [HD]

OK Action Comedy That Is Light on Action and Heavy on Comedy
Well, Doug Liman presents "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman." I don't know what exactly this "presents" means, but I can tell you this.

"The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman" is an action comedy, and with "action sequences" small in number and all choppily edited, this is hardly a martial arts movie. (The trailer is a bit misleading.) The film is light on action and heavy on comedy. That itself is not a bad thing. What is disappointing is the film's one-note narrative that seems going on aimlessly.

As the title suggests, "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman" consists of three stories interconnected with each other. In all three segments - Desire, Vengeance and Greed - appears the same kitchen cleaver that changes hands over years. The narrative device is similar to that of "The Red Violin," but is actually more ambitious. Maybe too ambitious.

The first segment is about a butcher smitten with a courtesan. This is followed by the second...

A hilarious multi-media experience
This is the feature debut of Chinese director Wuershan, who also directed
Painted Skin: The Resurrection [Blu-ray]
The lives and the destinies of the butcher, the chef and the swordsman
are entwined with the story of a cleaver, which was cast from the melted blades
of the most notorious swordsmen of the land.
This is a moral fable, which is supremely ironic, because the cleaver
has been fashioned for culinary glories, not for killing people.
The stories of the three principal characters are developed in a series
of nestled flashbacks:
The lecherous, buffoonish butcher will not be stopped-by any foe or adversity-
from winning the hand of the prettiest girl in the brothel of "A Thousand Flowers".
A "mute" young man will not be stopped-by any foe or adversity-
from avenging the murder of his family, on the orders of a malicious Palace Eunuch.
This young...

Excellent!
I have enjoyed Chinese film for over a decade; this is an exceptional piece. The cinematography is exceptional. The story is woven nicely. I can't think of another Chinese film to compare in recent times. This is a keeper.

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