Curse of the Golden Flower (Chinese: 满城尽带黄金甲
Pinyin: mǎn chéng jìn dài huáng jīn jiǎ) 2006

In the later Tang Dynasty (10th Century), golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace on the eve of the Chong Yang Festival. The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou) with the pretext to celebrate the holiday with his family. But to the chilled relation between the Emperor and the ailing Empress (Gong Li), this seems disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped in the dilemma, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan (Li Man), the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, becomes worried about the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down? The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans: the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong) is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor's family from the Palace to a remote area. While they are en route, some mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi (Chen Jin) are forced back to the palace. Their return sets off a tumultuous sequence of dark surprises. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the festival, ugly secrets are revealed. As the Imperial Family continues its elaborate charade in a palatial setting, thousands of golden armored warriors charge the palace. Who is behind this brutal rebellion? Where do Prince Jai's loyalties lie? Between love and desire, is there a final winner? Against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace.