After the considerable crowd-pleasing impact of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower it’s a bit disenchanting to realise that the latest prestigious, generously budgeted Chinese costume drama The Banquet has slipped past audiences in the west almost completely unnoticed. But then again the film’s minuscule release period, wanton marketing strategy and seriously limited cinematic distribution didn’t help matters. Obviously there was little faith riding on the faintly Shakespearian material, untested (in the West) credentials of former social comedy director Feng Xiaogang  (responsible for the high-flung Big Shot’s Funeral) and (Zhang Ziyi aside) considerable lack of ‘mainstream’ noticeable star acting talent. But despite its subsequent critical bashing - targeting its elongated running time, lengthy dialogue scenes, laborious build up and lack of chemistry between the main leads - The Banquet is not a film to be dismissed completely.

Feng’s film draws on both Hamlet and Macbeth for literacy inspiration, taking in the turmoil’s underpinning the fall of the Tang Dynasty to explore treachery and quasi-incestuous relations in the emperor’s court. Prince Wu Luan (played by One Nite in Mongkok’s Daniel Wu), has retreated into artistic solace after the untimely death of his former Emperor father by suspicious ‘scorpionbite’. Bemused by the sudden marriage of his father’s widower Wan (Zhang Ziyi) to his uncle, the successor Emperor Li (You Ge), Wu soon realises that his own life is in mortal danger after an assassination attempt. Suspecting the new Emperor is behind the attack he flees to the palace in an attempt to avenge his father’s murder but finds himself caught in the middle of a love triangle between former love-interest Wan and the Emperor’s own angelic daughter Qing Nu (Zhou Xun), which prompts bitter jealousy and sordid revenge.

So far so routinely melodramatic, but if you were somewhat smothered by the claustrophobic richness of palette orchestrated in Curse of the Golden Flower or clogged by the complexity of story deployed in Hero then The Banquet proves at least, momentarily, a refreshing break. For while there is certainly a prestige administrated in the unfolding of the narrative contrivances, there’s also a confident heart that doesn’t nestle into overt patronisation but pleasingly beats to learnt recognition. So majestically lyrical are the visuals – from the lush evergreen that frames the bamboo simplicity of the monastery theatre house to the acrophobic ‘oil-painting’ regal decadence of the Emperor’s palace – that you forgive any flamboyant pretension that there might be in one swooping CGI-assisted kinetic camera crane movement that sucks in the glamour of a coronation scene. And while there is decidedly little action to speak of, an early beautifully choreographed aerodynamic ambush in Prince Wu’s theatre, which takes in the almost supremely preposterous fate of a band of masked, defenceless theatrical mimes, is enough to temporarily diminish any sneaking doubts that Feng is not up to the challenge of delivering scenes of action-orientated brilliance. 

The main problem with Feng’s film lies in the build up to the titular dinner, which remains a laborious one. Too many dialogue scenes hinder the emotional impact required for this sort of building brooding crescendo, little helped by the lack of any noticeable sparkle between the two leads. However You Ge makes for a suitably ghastly all encompassing Emperor and Tan Dun’s sumptuous atypical predominate piano score layers the film with perhaps more haunting gusto than it deserves. The pivotal banquet remains an undernourished one, but there’s an appropriate crimson blood approach to the unfolding drama which should unearth some welcome surprises.

The Banquet remains a missed opportunity perhaps but one that, despite its flaws, deserves at least some worthy attention, not least for its successful deliberation of weighty Sub-Shakespearean issues and sumptuous set decoration that ensures that the majority of cinemagoers have indeed missed out on something special.
    

Oliver Pfeiffer 

 

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Alice Chun - Curse of the Golden Flower Posted 0:07 on 8 May 2008 Ahh this is good film but very shakepearean as reviewer says. I not give away anything but is worth seeing and end is "ambigeous." One important clue is that the sword in question is "The Sword of the Yueh Maiden" so students of Chinese literature will know what this mean. In China this film is also known as "The Curse of the Steamed Dumplings" because of the revealing costumes. You will understand when you see. Reply | Quote

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