After a year, Twinkle talks Brother Twilight into taking a wife, which is something he hadn't considered because he didn't want to be a burden with his physical infirmities. He ends up marrying one of the villages most peculiar members, the winsome mute Rainbow (Li Xiao-lu- Xiu Xiu The Sent Down Girl). She is very much a doll-wife, becoming a fixture in his life, but he is not intimate with her, choosing instead to make her part of his routine, making kites together, eating, and every full moon he has her model for him while naked in the bath. That is as close as the two get, and Rainbow fantasizes about a more amorous life.

A young, cultured student, Sunshine (Zhang Jun) enters the picture; he has been traveling into the deepest rural areas to collect folk music. Sunshine and Rainbow share an instant attraction. To Rainbow, he is literally the man of her dreams. The two plan to run away together, but the tides of war come with the news of the invasion of Japanese occupying forces. Sunshine leaves to go fight and sends letters that relate increasingly dim reports about the Chinese army being steadily defeated. Brother Twilight secretly knows of his wifes never consummated affair and the letters. For Rainbow's sake, he forges new letters when Sunshine's stop. The Japanese army makes their way to the remote Shangri-la, and Rainbow, Brother Twilight, and Twinkle must quickly decide where their future lies.

Well, one needs to look no further than the names to gather that Rainbow (2004) takes its tonal cues from fables and simple stroytelling. The concept and execution is sort of a merger of the political tones of other mainland China film makers like Zhang Yimou (Red Soghum or Wen Ziang (Devils on the Doorstep) with the romantic, love triangle folk tale. Writer/director Gao Xiao-song creates a very dreamy air with some surreal battle flashbacks (set to a modern rock tune, no less), the rainswept idyllic village, and his iconic female lead. Technically he shows a bold visual sense and daring with the use of some blatant title cards to show the passage of time, some POV shots, and only stumbles occasionally like his awkward use of some jump cuts.

The film is a tapestry of familiar archetypes and standard romance/foreign invader chestnuts. Still, the film knows this and plays up the unreal edge while drawing from elements of the fanciful, the comedic, and the sensual. Despite playing up all of the predictable melodrama devices, the film is involving due to the solid visual sense and the actors, who do a decent job with their limited characters.

The DVD: Facets Video

Picture: There is slight matting at the top and bottom of the frame, yet it lies somewhere between full and a standard widescreen ratio, like 1.77:1. Non-anamorphic to boot. The print is extremely poor. It is quite s disconcerting that a film this new has such a soft, worn out, and generally muddy print. I don't even have to get into any technical issues because you cannot get past the main problem wich is the print itself. The dark and murky presentation is especially frustrating because one can see the hints at vibrant and stylish cinematography.

Sound: PCM, Mandarin with burned-in English subtitles. The burned-in subs just continue the transfers bad track record. Very basic audio that is passable but not exceptional.

Extras: Nothin'

Conclusion: Facets certainly don't do the film any favors with this transfer, and it is a sad thing if this is the cleanest print someone can find for a film this new. Considering these limitations and the MSRP price, I definitely do not recommend a purchase. The film is an engaging piece of Chinese cinema, so I'll be real nice and give it a rental at most.