When I saw Hong Kong producer-director Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame at the Venice Film Festival last year, I lamented that although American viewers would probably be able to track the movie down on DVD or online, the picture wasn’t likely to get a U.S. theatrical release. Happily, I was wrong, and if you’re lucky enough to live in one of the cities where Detective Dee is playing, you too will now have a chance to witness Tsui’s glorious and somewhat unhinged vision as he tackles an episode in the real-life history of China — the ascent of the first female emperor to the throne — adding fanciful touches like spontaneous human combustion and mysterious creepy-crawlies with dangerous powers. It’s the kind of ambitious, loopy spectacle that begs to be seen on the big screen if at all possible.
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REVIEW: Hong Kong’s Tsui Hark Makes a Grand, Loopy Spectacle with Detective Dee
