THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN
(Chinese with English subtitles)
If parts of Chen Kaige's modern epic, "Farewell My Concubine" from 1993 with its tale of two street urchins who rise to prominence in the Peking Opera Company is Dickensian, then "The Emperor and the Assassin" is Shakespearean. By film's end, the story of China's first emperor and his rise to power exhibits all the elements we associate with the bard's historical tragedies except for one thing:the bad guy lives. Think of a triumphant Richard III and you'll get the idea.
It is the 3
rd Century B.C. - China is divided into seven warring kingdoms. Only one king - Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) of Qin - has the cunning and ruthlessness to unite them into one empire under one King of All Under Heaven. Once his master plan is set in motion, his childhood sweetheart, the Lady Zhao (Gong Li), cannot tame him; his mother, the Queen, cannot control him; and a plotting court official, the Marquis, cannot undermine him. Not even the combined forces of his enemies can stop him. The task falls to one man, Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi), an assassin for hire in "The Emperor and the Assassin."I have to admit I had a few problems at the beginning of the movie keeping track of a few of the characters, but their faces became more familiar to me as the plot unfolded and I became totally absorbed in each of their stories. At first, Zheng is lionized by his men, humanized by Lady Zhao, and respected by his peers. He is a brilliant war tactician who yearns to rule with benevolence. The Lady Zhao offers to help him with a labyrinthine plot to win the trust of his sworn enemy, Prince Dan (Sun Zhou) of Yan , and discredit him with an assassination attempt on Zheng's life that is meant to fail. Zheng's biggest threat comes in the revelation of a secret could lead to his downfall. It must be concealed at all costs if he is to fulfill his destiny. Intrigue wafts through the bastions of power inviting suspicion at every corner. The Prime Minister of Qin, played by Chen Kaige, and one of Zheng's generals emerge from the background as pivotal figures in his shifting fortunes. He cannot wait for the hired assassin to act. If Zheng is to consolidate his power he must act swiftly and without mercy. He embarks on a bloodthirsty reign of terror to purge the land of his enemies, real and imagined, without regard to age, sex, or caste.
Writer/director Chen Kaige has spared no expense to bring the story of China's first emperor to the screen. "The Emperor and the Assassin" has all the action, thrills and romance of an old-fashioned Hollywood epic. Chariots race across the Chinese plains in fits of battle and a sea of infantrymen march in grid-like formation with their instruments of death and destruction. I suspect comparisons will be made to Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" and "Kagemusha" because of their spectacular battle scenes in a feudal Asian setting; but my thoughts ran to "El Cid" (1961) and the Moors' attack in the Battle of Valencia, as well as the final confrontation between the Roman Legions and the slave army in "Spartacus" (1960). These pictures also had strong female leads - Sophia Loren in the former, and Jean Simmons in the latter - that gave the movies their heart and soul. Gong Li does the same for "The Emperor and the Assassin" as Lady Zhao. Zheng reveals his humanity to her but the feared assassin, Jing Ke wins the Lady's love. Ke's spiritual catharsis, comparable to that of Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament, and his conversion from ruthless killer to hermetic wanderer become the centerpiece of the movie. Then news of Zheng's barbarous incursions into Lady Zhao's homeland reach her ears, and her mission takes a new direction.
"The Emperor and the Assassin" will probably be regarded as one of Chen Kaige's masterworks just for the sheer scope and size of its ambition. Even so, the magnitude of Chen Kaige's achievement should not be measured by the overwhelming weight and heft of the movie's spectacle but by his ability to reach back in time to create flesh and blood creatures with the same fears and doubts of the modern world where dictators still rule, and the seeds of love and compassion can still take root and thrive.
Chen Kaige's best!
"Farewell My Concubine" (1993) - This is China's modern day "Gone with the Wind." Fifty years of cultural upheaval frame the story of two street urchins, Shitou and Douzi, played by Zhang Fengyi and Leslie Cheung, who survive the brutality of their times to rise to prominence in the Peking Opera Company, fall into disfavor during WWII, and become victims of the Cultural Revolution. Gong Li is Juxian, the harlot who falls in love with Shitou and marries him causing a rift in the men's partnership. The heart breaking scenes with the Red Guards near the end of the film are suggested by an incident in Chen Kaige's life. The awesome cinematography is by Zhang Yimou.
Another good one with Gong Li
"Shanghai Triad" (1995) - Directed by Zhang Yimou. A young boy is hired to cater to the needs of Gong Li as a mobster's girlfriend in Shanghii in the 30's. This is a great period piece that evokes the Warner Brothers gangster movies of the thirties.
Two Hollywood epics that share a kindred spirit with "The Emperor and the Assassin"
"El Cid" (1961) - Dir. Anthony Mann. Charlton Heston is the title character who drives the Moors out of Spain in the eleventh century. Plenty of action, romance and intrigue as two bothers vie for the throne of Spain, with the Moors at their back door. Sophia Loren is the woman who loves, shuns, then loves Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar again. He is called The Cid - Lord, or man of honor - by his Muslim allies.
"Spartacus" (1960) - Director Anthony Man was the first on board (the opening sequence is his) before Stanley Kubrick took over this slave revolt epic. Kirk Douglas is the title character who escapes from gladiator school to raise an army of slaves to fight the mighty Roman empire in the 1st Century B.C. Chen Kaige's staging of his cast of thousands as soldiers on the Chinese plains in "The Emperor and the Assassin" is strikingly similar to the prelude to the final confrontation of the slave army and the Roman Legions.