Purple Butterfly 2003

John Hartl, Seattle Times: The characters are less compelling than this particular slice of history, which has rarely been dramatized in movies. Read more

AV Club: Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: There are two movies battling for supremacy in Butterfly, and both lose. As does the audience. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: As atmospheric and moody as a film noir, the stylish, sometimes perplexing Purple Butterfly is a remarkable period piece, evoking the bustling, dense and increasingly dangerous Shanghai of the '30s. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Too often, Purple Butterfly is as impenetrable as Zhang's placid, obdurate beauty. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Hectic, lyrical, swooningly romantic and almost unwatchably brutal. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Mr. Lou synthesizes a wide range of styles and influences -- from Casablanca to Wong Kar-wai -- resulting in a movie that, for all its haunting strangeness, seems curiously familiar. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: At the center of it all is, of course, Zhang. Charismatic and intense, she excels in her most grown-up role to date. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: Read more

Derek Elley, Variety: An often remarkable, often infuriating lateral spin on genre material that desperately needs another sesh at the editing table. Read more