The Emperor and the Assassin
Directed by Chen Kaige.
Starring Gong Li.
In 221 BC, king Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) of the Qin kingdom is engaged in his ancestral crusade to unite the seven kingdoms of China under his rule. His mistress, the Lady Zhao (Gong Li), turns her skill in intrigue to aid him but finds herself increasingly sympathising with Qin’s enemies. Other players in this epic nation-sweeping drama are the proud but ineffectual prince of Yan (Sun Zhou), easily manipulated by Ying and Lady Zhao; the devious would-be usurper, Marquis Changxin (Wang Zhiwen); and the world-weary assassin Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi). The king moves from being visionary and ambitious to being completely obsessed by his goal, all the while becoming more isolated from his friends, erratic, suspicious, vengeful and brutal.
My friend with whom I saw this film commented that it was a poor-man’s Shakespeare. The epic-sweep-of-history is driven by the characters, and there is also a five-act structure. Yet, somehow, the film doesn’t quite sit right. Where Shakespeare would have presented the characters and driven the story with taut dialogue, Chen Kaige uses the visual medium, one tense tableau after another. What you end up with is a film comprising a series of poignant moments. That said, the visual quality is fantastic, from the reconstructed ancient cities and palaces to the massed battle-scenes (I found myself saying ‘Bloody hell, look at that!’ under my breath several times).
This is worth seeing for the sheer scope and ambition of the project, depicting the foundation of an empire with a cast of millions, its battles, political machinations and the evolution of the characters. However, there are reservations. For one thing, it is very long, 160 minutes. You’ll need a fair bit of patience to get through it, as well as a degree of concentration to follow what different people are up to.
Guy
