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Temptation of a Monk | 
 enlarge | Director: Clara Law
Actors: Joan Chen, Hsing-kuo Wu, Fengyi Zhang, Michael Lee, Lisa Lu
Studio: Fox Lorber
Category: Video
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.97 (100%)
Used (16) Collectible (1) from $0.01
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 49047
Format: Color, Subtitled, Ntsc
Language: English (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 118
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6303544568
UPC: 720917011684
EAN: 9786303544564
ASIN: 6303544568
Theatrical Release Date: August 25, 1995
Release Date: October 16, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 The Temptation of the Monk June 25, 2008
"Temptation of a Monk" is one title in my prized collections, along
with "Brazil", "Das Boot", "Fisher King", and "Wallace and Grommet"...
The movie takes us on a transformational journey with the protagonist General. Though he commands the fate of hundreds of thousands of people, and even the fate of nations, he was caught helplessly in a turmoil caused by royal sibling rivlary, where the prize of wrong alliance is death. After the coup, his subordinate saught the General's death to avenge the betrayed, now dead prince. His mother then denouced his failure to protect the dead prince, and thus tarnished the family reputation as loyal subjects. She expressed her denouncement through suicide, which the General witnessed. He soon became a fugitive general pursued by the newly enthroned king because he failed to submit to the new king.
In his fugitive runs, the general slid down a slipery slope of decadence, conveyed through brothel indulgence. He tried to run from one crisis to the next, but confronted death of people around him wherever he turned. He struggled with all his might, but to no avail in his salvation.
In his last ditch escape, he saught refuge in a desolate monistery where the essence of life was revealed in simple words by an unassuming monk in ragged cloths, with unshaven head. The General calms and attains peace as his internal conflicts are resolved through seemingly mondane day to day interactions with the Zen master.
The thematic development is brilliant, where the chaotic conflicts between
multiple interests and constant tensions are released anti-climatically at the end. Taking their place are seemingly casual conversations woven into daily life, whose wisdom brought the past turmoil into proper perspective and closure. The simple yet profound messages, often subtly hillarious, are as relevant to modern hectic life style as ever.
Don't take my word for it. See it for yourself.
Many may be disappointed, but may you be the few who find jewels in this classic.
Highly underrated March 8, 2008
This was a highly underrated film.. probably best appreciated along it's themes of buddhism and eroticism and it's backdrop of tang dynasty china
I Love This Movie! December 13, 2005
Foreign films are soooo.... Foreign. And TOAM is not an exception. Do to the many excellent reviews already given the story has already been given away several times-so I won't feel bad if my contribution gives away the story some more. This movie is a buddhist love story. There is Violet the 19th princess who has this eccentric relationship with the hero. However, she dies. Many are tricked into thinking she returns later as the dead general's wife. Her purpose is to Tempt the monk with SEX which she does well. It's in the final scene that Violet makes her reappearance as the pony that the monk rides off on (into the sunset :) satisfying her destiny to be his companion while complementing his monkhood which she was unable to do after his conversion. Recall that the Monk was a general much given to womanizing and gaming hence he had no use for such a fierce knife. It is obvious in the scene where violet encounters the hunting generals that a relationship already existed between the Tang-y princess and the jovial general ;)
The complexity of this movie becomes evident after about the 19th viewing - This is a great movie.
 temptation can be a passive response June 17, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hong Kong director Clara Law's film is based on a novel by Lillian Lee, who also wrote Farewell My Concubine. Set in China's Tang dynasty, it concerns the antagonism between two generals, Shi (Wu Hsin-Kuo) and Huo Da (Zhang Fengyi) who plot to overthrow the Emperor. Shi retreats from the fight when the ascendant heir is killed and seeks refuge in a Buddhist monastery. Law lacks the narrative skill to elucidate the story, relying instead on random set pieces, which occasionally redeem her painfully slow pace. The stylised use of colour and choreography in the opening ceremony and in an extended brothel sequence are very lovely, and she out-Peckinpah's Peckinpah in savage slow-motion massacres. Law has a good eye for composition, favouring the use of wind and smoke in her exteriors, and the burning of a house near the end is very beautiful. The brothel sequence features a transvestite, and the sex scene between Shi and a nun is all the more erotic because their shaved heads give it a particular subtext. Of the actors, Joan Chen manages to connect with the audience, though her screen time is limited, and the abbott monk raises a few laughs.
 temptation and restraint May 23, 2000
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
this movie has got to be one of the greatest stories of all times, if you can understand it. you need to understand the asian culture in order to truly grasp what's going on as joan chen acts two roles. it has no relevance on the story, it's just this woman trying to kill the hero-the 19th princess is already dead. it is the monk being tempted which is obviously the core of the movie-where our hero has forsaken revenge for introspection. it is only after he is pushed to the furthest point of endurance where he fights back, and even then unwillingly. it is this self-control that most US viewers have a hard time comprehending, but one sees that the hero's opponent's lack of self-control is what makes him lose in the end, a modern fable this is
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