Dragon Town Story

The Hong Kong Film Festival brochure erroneously attributes this to Zhang Yimou, who in fact signs on as executive producer (Yang Fengliang reportedly got a co-director credit on Red Sorghum, though not in the West). Any fan of Zhang's will spot the mistake within the first hundred frames - this is a resolutely ordinary looking movie. That disappointment aside, it's still highly watchable. Wu Chien-Lien is the only survivor of a blood bath on her wedding day. Having sworn vengeance on the warlord who wiped out her family, she eventually persuades an assassin-for-hire to take up her cause. They get close to the warlord by pretending to be man and wife - too close, perhaps. It's a good yarn, with strong performances and some nice touches, but it never achieves the tragic resonance it's aiming for.