The Banquet (2006)

Don't Believe the Hype

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Stunning cinematography, set design (outshines Blenheim Palace) and choreography! Worth seeing in its own right and as a reference point for many aspects of Hamlet. It's surprising how such meaningful changes could be wrought upon basically the same set of scenes. Brilliant resolutions of some character issues in the original. The Emperor and Empress have more consistent, less conflicted rationales than Claudius and Gertrude, as does the version of Laertes (no need here for an "oops, shot the arrow awry" speech). In this version, guilt is clear and characters get what they deserve, except for Ophelia. It raises Ophelia's profile to great effect and reduces Hamlet's, so given the loss of the language of the play this version is not a replacement for the original, but in many ways it is more focused.

Recap: In an ancient Chinese kingdom a noble has murdered his brother and intends to wed his widow in order to become the next emperor. But in doing so he creates a scenario where his claim to the throne are weak and many foes lurk in the shadows to either avenge his brother or to claim power to themselves. Everyone has an agenda and no one will stop at murder. The new emperor must get rid of the prince, his brother's son that has legitimate claims to the throne. The princess clearly wants to avenge his father, but also has fallen in love with the empress maid. This maid is the sister to a general and daughter to the minister that wants to claim power for his own family. And in the middle of it all, the empress herself, that is unhappily in love with the prince, jealous of her maid and wants the throne for herself. But with so many players, the game is too complex to evolve as anyone planned. (The movie is apparently loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet)Comments: Very poetic. True to recent Chinese tradition of making movies it is stunningly beautiful. Every move choreographed, bright colors and abundant scenes with slow motion. It is very much like a long, visual poem. Poetic. Touching and stunningly beautiful. Truly a well made movie. However, true to recent Chinese tradition of movies it is also far too focused on the visual, with the storytelling taking the back seat. How beautiful it is, without a strong story no movie can be a complete success. And when fights are over choreographed its meaning starts to lack plausibility. The story becomes too hard to believe in and then the stunningly beautiful visual parts are not enough. For some stretches it becomes too slow, to dull, even if it is in the middle of an assassination attempt or sword fights. It's stretched far too thin. But, for its genre it is clearly a step in the right direction. Compared to other Chinese movies, for example Flying Daggers, this is much better at keeping tempo. Not quite there yet, but clearly better than movies before it.Also the fairytale components are kept to a minimum. Not so poetic maybe, but it makes the movie better. They are there, a few brief details. But not disturbingly much as the tree running that in my opinion crippled Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for example.Still, for all its faults it is actually quite a good movie. I think it could have been better with a stronger story, a higher tempo and more focus on authenticity and plausibility. But the strong visual parts make up for a lot of it and I enjoyed it.7/10

Having high anticipations for this film, in particular it was a Shakespeare play adaptation i was fond of (Hamlet),the story suits the betrayal and revenge themes that most wuxia films are evolved upon. Yet, I could not really feel any feeling towards the characters, and the fight scenes don't really display anything that makes the violence truly horrific for such a tragic story. The acting is good, Ziyi Zhang showing another compelling performance. Many of the scenes feel a bit oddly shot, as though it doesn't really capture the characters true feelings. The ending ( i wont say anything about it) is also a tad confusing, but i'm assuming is meant to be symbolic of tragedy - see it for yourself and see if you understand.The similarities with Hamlet are very apparent, yet the real villain in the film is the queen. Shows an interesting twist to the characters. Its well worth a look.

Zhang Ziyi stars in a tale inspired by Hamlet. When the emperor marries his sons lover the son flees into the country. The Emperor is murdered by his brother who has designs on the wife and wants the son dead. Failing to fall victim to his uncles plot, the son returns to the palace and the family's bickering goes into over drive.The look of this film is mind blowing. from the sets, costumes, action sequences, and even the smallest motions of the actors, nothing seems out of place. This is a world that is both real and unreal. This is a film with a high Gee Whiz factor that must be seen in wide screen.Its a work of visual art.Unfortunately this is tough to sit through.I don't think its a bad film, its just one that I wish would get on with things. Many sequences, especially the action ones, seem to go on and on and on (especially since they are all shot in stylized slow motion). At other times things don't seem to have gone on long enough. Some of Zhang Ziyi early scenes left me a little confused as to what he deal was, she seemed more to be an actress trying to find a character instead of a real person on the screen. And while things got better as the film went on I never really bought her in the later scenes simply because of the fumbling early on. Worth a look for those who love on screen opulence or those who can be a bit more forgiving than I can with the pacing.This would make an interesting double feature with Curse of the Golden Flower, another tale of family dysfunction in ancient China