The Emperor and the Assassin
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Movie Reviews of The Emperor and the Assassin
Movie Review: An historical Chinese story of epic proportions
Summary: 5 Stars
Based on the actual event , this epic is set in the year 221 B.C and tells the story of the unification of China. Action packed and filled with intrigue, passion, betrayals and unforgettable battle sequences, it held my attention throughout in spite of its 160 minute length.The king, Ying Zeng, played by Li Xuejian. is obsessed with unifying the seven kingdoms of China and becoming its first Emperor. His lover, Lady Zhao, played by the beautiful actress Gong Li, devises a scheme whereby she will travel to the neighboring kingdom of Yan to set a fake assassination plot in motion which will give the king an excuse to invade Yan. However, she falls in love with the assassin as the king becomes more and more ruthless.
There are subplots, and tragedy and constant high drama. There are scenes of great beauty and of abject cruelty. There is great cinematography and brilliant use of physical space.
The deep characterization made me think of Shakespeare. And tragic events that call to mind Greek drama. And yet it is totally Chinese as it deals with age-old questions of whether the ends justify the means. And raises questions dealing with life and death and good and evil and all the blurred edges in between.
Movie Review: A visual masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
A tale of epic proportions. The scale and beauty of this film is nothing short of amazing. Chen Kaige masterfully tells the tale of the unification of China's seven kingdoms.This movie sets a standard that is not achieved in Hollywood.Movie Review: Exciting epic
Summary: 4 Stars
Sumptuous, stunning epic film by director Chen Kaige, who surpasses his worldwide acclaimed Farewell, My Concubine by creating a more evenly paced and densely textured film. Set in second century Asia, when seven separate kingdoms made up what is now China, it tells the story of Qin leader King Ying Zheng, whose goal it is to unify the seven kingdoms and become the first emperor of a unified China. Unfortunately, he can't help but let greed and powerlust get in the way of what starts off as civil and proper proceedings, and a Shakespearean tragedy akin to Kurosawa's Ran is born. It all starts off when the King's wife (the always captivating Gong Li) devises an expert plan: Since the Yan kingdom is one that is difficult to take over, why not release the captive Prince of Yan and send him home with the Queen as hostage so that when the Prince sends an assassin (played by Kaige himself) as retaliation for his imprisonment, King Ying Zheng will have an excuse to overtake the Yan kingdom? The Queen's wish is to avoid as much bloodshed as possible; the king makes this promise but doesn't quite keep it. Some might be a little upset by the violence in the film (there were constant groans in the theatre that I saw it in), but it is above all things a great tale of betrayal and revenge.Movie Review: If you aren't familiar with Chinese history - PLSE READ THIS
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, I am not by any means an expert on ancient Chinese history. But I know enough to know that this film is historical fiction and does NOT a good history lesson make. I think the director intended this to be fiction inspired by historical events.This film is especially provocative because of the director's interpretation of the Qin King Yinzheng, later to be known as the First Emperor. Traditionally Yinzheng has been regarded as a bloodthirsty tyrant, until in the 1960's and 70's Chairman Mao - who so obviously identified himself with the First Emperor - held him up as a symbol of national unification and anti-feudal "progress". In the Deng-era the status of the First Emperor fell into limbo, which is to say ripe for revisionism by avante-garde film directors. It may be more fair to interpret this film as Chen's commentary on Mao than any piece of historical scholarship.
The Qin King Yinzheng in this film is an ambiguous character torn between his ideals and his sense of duty and his darker impulses for revenge and power. He is a man who has learned to justify every act of brutality with the end of unifying the empire and bringing peace and prosperity to the land, and is so sincere in his self-deceit that he is genuinely shocked as those closest to him abandon him one by one, even as one kingdom after another falls before his armies. At the end of the film as the King prepares to bring yet another kingdom to certain annihilation, the love of his life (Lady Zhao, played by Gong Li) turns her back on him and walks out of his palace for the last time. The King, now alone in his cavenous audience chamber, looks toward the sky and howls, "King Yinzheng of Qin, have you forgotten your ancestors' great goal of unifying the empire?"
The Qin King Yinzheng as depicted in this film is an archtypical Faustian figure, who gains the world but loses his soul in the process.
As a side note, it's much easier to draw universal messages about the human condition from films like this than any specific political messages. You can't really go wrong saying that the message of this film is that men and women who endeavour to accomplish great things must be forever vigilant lest their means destroy their ends. But to say that the film clearly shows that "the unification of China is not worth the costs" and apply the lesson to Tibet and Xinjiang, well, that's just stretching it too far.
Movie Review: A beautifully directed epic
Summary: 5 Stars
I am really impressed by this beautifully directed movie. It tells a story that most Chinese have heard some time in their lives, but the director tells it from a rather different perspective, and with such a passion and intensity, it actually brings an all new feeling. Yes, it is an extremely disturbing story with lots of haunting images, but it is about one of the most disturbing time period in the Chinese history when humanity were totally disregarded. I applaud the director's effort in retelling the story and depicting these long lost images in such a realistic way. I found that the movie was a bit hard to follow. Personally, I heard a much simplified version of the story when I was a little kid, but didn't know anything about the complicated plot leading to the main story. So I had to pay a lot of attentions to follow the development of the story.
I highly recommend this movie. Most people probably didn't realize the Qin had not only created a united nation, but had also left a distorted mentality.