A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

In Zhang Yimou's clever remake of Joel and Ethan Coen's Blood Simple, the action is moved to feudal China, where noodle shop owner Wang (Dahong Ni) browbeats his unnamed wife (Ni Yan), along with co-workers Zhao (Ye Cheng), Chen (Mao Mao), and Li (Xiao Shen-Yang). When a band of Persian traveling merchants drop by while Wang is away, his wife buys a pistol. The boss man, meanwhile, pays patrol officer Zhang (Honglei Sun) to spy on her and Li. After Wang's suspicions about their affair are confirmed, he offers Zhang yet more money to take the couple out of his misery, but Wang doesn't count on the double-crosses that follow: Zhang intends to rob the man blind, except he doesn't know the combination to the safe—unlike waiter Zhao, who isn't as dumb as he looks (prominent teeth and tiny top-knot reinforcing the impression). Despite a tone that veers between slapstick and suspense, A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop offers the sort of stunning visuals that characterize most Yimou works (such as House of Flying Daggers), including shots of the desert, which is gorgeous in its eerie desolation. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an extensive series of “Creating A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop” behind-the-scenes featurettes (120 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning film.] (K. Fennessy)