Though sold as a martial arts epic, those expecting a Palace of Flying Daggers will be disappointed.

But, audiences yearning for a true Eastern epic, a riveting portrayal of power, ambition, greed and murder alongside the best Kurosawa, Curse of the Golden Flower may be the year’s finest film.

In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Ping (Chow Yun Fat) takes a break from nation building to return home for the Chrysanthemum Festival, but the palace courts are rife with intrigue and corruption, all originating from the dysfunctional Royal Family.

Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) is carrying on an illicit affair with the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), the Emperor’s weak-willed son from another marriage, while also plotting to overthrow her husband in a coup she wishes to orchestrate with her devoted son Jai (Jay Chou).

The Emperor also schemes, slowly poisoning his wife with a madness inducing fungus, while even the delicate Wan is seeing the daughter of the Emperor’s treacherous personal physician behind his stepmother’s back.

All under the wide-eyes of the callow youngest son, Yu (Qin).

With no daytime TV for the fractious family to thrash it out on, the descent into madness, vengeance and incest climaxes with two armies ten-thousand strong battling in the huge palace gardens.

But, before this epic denouement, Zhang recreates China circa 928AD with extraordinary attention to detail. From intricate dressing rituals to warming the Emperor’s royal throne, Zhang charges his crew with presenting a period film so authentic it is possible to smell the chrysanthemums and feel the fabrics.

And in an astonishing sequence reveals how an army of servants clean up after twenty thousand soldiers have warred in the flowerbeds.

Daggers cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding’s glorious visuals are a riot of colour and almost every shot is a moving work of art. Beneath this and Yee Chung-man’s costume, the actors ran the risk of being completely swamped.

But, with passionate performances so hot you could fry eggs on them, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li (Zhang’s onetime partner) demonstrate why Hollywood has squandered their talents – Chow reveals untapped menace as the callous ruler and Gong transforms what could have been Lady Macbeth-lite into a moving portrait of a desperate, fractured woman.

Two standout set-pieces should provide action junkies with the necessary adrenalin hit.

The climactic battle between armies loyal to the Emperor or Empress is stunning, reminiscent of Kurosawa’s Ran or Kubrick’s Spartacus and seemingly done with real extras instead of CGI stand-ins.

But, the finest moment of high-octane suspense comes when ninja-like assassins attack an outpost in the mountains to silence the Emperor’s enemies, flying on ropes and creating the tensest, most exhilarating and laugh-out-loud enjoyable slice of excitement since Peter Jackson put a full stop on Lord of the Rings.

Curse of the Golden Flower is a film to luxuriate in, a complex and engrossing thriller, a gorgeous reconstruction of a time long gone and a giddily rousing spectacle.

Rob Daniel