The Banquet (Ye Yan).
This is a visually stunning film. The costumes are amazing and the sets opulent. The wire work is nice, but the martial arts isn't the center point (I felt they over used it) its got to be the Empress (Ziyi Zhang). I was just blown away by her. Easily the best thing I've seen her in since Crouching (I've not seen Geisha yet but her role in Flying Daggers was terribly one sided compared to this). She conveys the conflicting emotions of a young and beautiful girl changed by the lifestyle into which she marries, is passed about within, and finally succumbs to (ambition) completely. I had to watch it a second time just for her closeups.
The film is a little awkwardly paced (edited) though and unless you dig on visual splendor it won't exite.
