Yet another fine looking (IMO) wuxia movie - this one is based on Hamlet it seems. I haven't heard of the director but Yuen Woo Ping does the choreograpghy for this one. Looking forward to it
The Banquet has been described as a loose adaptation of "Hamlet"; it is a tale of fate and revenge set in 10th century China. A new Emperor has usurped the throne through murder. Zhang Ziyi plays the widowed Empress, who marries the new Emperor (Ge You) only to protect herself, but also secretly plots his death with the help of the Crown Prince (Daniel Wu) and the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu). Yet the Prince and Minister each have their own plans for the throne, and, of course, so does the Emperor. All these intrigues are brought to a climax when the Emperor calls for a lavish banquet, where the murderous plans are set in motion. According to director Feng Xiaogang: "If Hamlet is about a prince who must make a choice involving life and death, then The Banquet is about how each character must face a choice of life or death... All are motivated by desire, but as soon as they have begun their plans must grow more extreme, and they move step-by-step towards the abyss... They do not intend evil, but turn to it out
of self-preservation and ever-growing ambition."
Actually I'm interested in any project with gorgeous Zhang Ziyi involved. The fact that Yuen Woo Ping is on board as well and the awesome looking trailer also caught my attention.
BUT
There have been no good comments or reviews 'til yet.
They all say that the movie is visually great, but somehow senseless.
This is what Kung Fu Cult Cinema wrote:
Feng Xiaogang's $15m historical epic "The Banquet" has shown at the Venice Film Festival, and although Western critics have not repsonded with the same kind of derisory laughter which has been greeting the film back in China, they were certainly less than impressed. Comments made on the film were that it was too obviously and cynically designed for commercial purposes, that many aspects of it seemed deliberately aimed at Western audiences, and that its clumsily plotted mixture of modern and ancient Chinese elements meant that it lacks any kind of believable identity. The film also suffers from too much highly stylised action, which apparently seems out of place, and has basically been described as being decorative and handsome, though empty and senseless. A full review can be found over at Screen Daily by clicking here.
Starlet Zhang Ziyi admitted that she did not bother to read the Shakespearean play "Hamlet", on which the film is loosely based, telling Sina on Sunday "I didn't want to be affected by the original. After all, this is an adaptation. The characters have similarities, but they're not identical". She also added "I wanted to present the character with my personal style" and "Maybe my presentation will have a modern interpretation, but I think this is a modern work in the sense that it is created by modern people. It may be more meaningful". According to the critics at least, this bold aim of adding more meaning to Shakespeare's immortal play has floundered, and though not as bad as Chen Kaige's infamous "The Promise", the film certainly seems not to be meeting its lofty expectations.
Hmmm.. thanks Dragonhero, I'll approach it cautiously then. But I must say I have liked these wuxia films a lot and the trailer looks awesome as you say
Modern interpretation.. eh? The film is set in 10th century China right? What era is Hamlet set in?
Kurgan, for me HD was to choppy/stuttery and didnt work well
Feng Xiaogang's $15m historical epic "The Banquet" has shown at the Venice Film Festival, and although Western critics have not repsonded with the same kind of derisory laughter which has been greeting the film back in China, they were certainly less than impressed. Comments made on the film were that it was too obviously and cynically designed for commercial purposes, that many aspects of it seemed deliberately aimed at Western audiences, and that its clumsily plotted mixture of modern and ancient Chinese elements meant that it lacks any kind of believable identity. The film also suffers from too much highly stylised action, which apparently seems out of place, and has basically been described as being decorative and handsome, though empty and senseless.
About The Banquet:
Feng Xiao-Gang's previous film (World without Thieves) was great, so this film is really tempting.
However, I hate Zhang "can't act to save her life" Ziyi. She ruined House of Flying Daggers for me, and The Banquet will probably be no different.
I'm putting my money on Curse of the Golden Flower (Chow Yun-Fat - Gong Li - Yimou), Restless (coming soon from Korea), Dororo (Japan - Kou Shibasaki - Ching Siu-Tung) and Jade Warrior.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
)
