The narrative structure worked as a disadvantage for me; with moments of worth popping up in all sections I'm not sure what's to blame. Still, as with everything I see of Hou, you could not drag me away from this.

The most interesting Hou film I've seen yet. He blurs the lines between the "film" and the "film within the film" until eventually they become reversed. I'm not explaining it well, but it's a really intriguing narrative. Surprisingly, I didn't have much difficulty following it, despite not knowing anything about the historical incidents being portrayed.