Chinese Cinema: The Road Home and The Banquet - Movie Review Example

Chinese movie review Chinese Civilization, originated in the banks of the Yellow river, is rich in cultural heritage. The Chinese directors demonstrate less interest to select themes from its modern history but are interested to select themes from medieval history. Here, the attempt is to investigate the treatment of history in the film-The Road Home by Zhang Yimou. 1. The Road Home Most of the Chinese films are closely related to their history of dynasties which ruled China for centuries. In the film The Road Home directed by the world renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, one can identify the silent flow of history. If one views the film for the first time, the silent presence of history may not be felt. But, when one tries to follow it, gradually the veil over the historical context will be removed. The Road Home is an old fashioned romantic tale, but when it is interpreted critically, its submerged political and historical context emerges to the surface. So it is not a surprise that this film was awarded the Audience Award for world cinema at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. The theme is simple and with universal appeal. The story takes place in a hilly region in North China, blessed with abundant natural beauty. The village of Sanheutun is a remote place in China and the only connection with the outer world is a road. The central characters of the film are two young people living in the village. The people are not aware of the benefits of electricity and water connection. This fixes the first historical context of the film. Zhang Yimou’s recent films based on martial art epics are closely related to history and politics of China. The story is in the form of narration by a young engineer namely Luo Yusheng, who recently returned to his village to attend his father’s funeral ceremony. His mother Zao Di is so traditional and she insists that her husband’s body which was at a near city must be carried back to the village. But earlier, she was the focal point of a love affair with a young school master who happened to be the teacher of the village school. Her love affair with the young man, (Luo Yusheng’s father) was a revolutionary act because the villagers were not so receptive of the people from outside. But now, Luo Yusheng’s mother shows strictness in customs and traditions. Luo Yusheng was ready to accept his mother’s opinion and made arrangements to fulfil the same. As earlier pointed out, the story is in the form of a narrative. The scenes which denote present condition are of black and white and the past scenes are in colour. This change in colour points out the nostalgic feelings on good old days. But here, the director portrays the old days through colourful scenes. Moreover, this upside down use of black and white instead of colour points out the political and historical context of the film. Besides, this unique technique can be considered as a tribute to the simplicity of the natural communism in the 1950s and 1960s in Chinese villages. The appointment of educated people from the Cities to the remote villages as teachers can be connected to the Chinese communist policy of educating the villagers. The villagers decided to build a school in the village and the young Zao Di daily used to visit the school. Gradually, the young teacher from the city and the young girl in the village happened to fall in love. But the affair was interrupted when the teacher was called back to the city. Here, the director does not point out any specific reason for the calling back of the teacher. But it is evident that the teacher is called back to face the interrogation for some unspecified political reasons. At that time, political interrogation was usual in China. So, the lovers were forced to part with each other. But Zao Di was not ready to give up and expected her lover’s return. So she stood by the road in the cold and became ill. This scene makes clear that how ideological/political power affects the life of ordinary people in remote villages. Moreover, from the unusual calling back of Luo Changyu, one can infer that it is the time of Cultural Revolution in China. Besides, this scene portrays the sufferings of villagers under communism. The Cultural Revolution resulted in massive impact on china from the year 1965 to 1968. This was considered as Mao’s attempt to reassert his beliefs in china to impose authority on party and eventually, the mass. Clark in the work ‘Chinese cinema: culture and politics since 1949’ reflects that: “The Cultural Revolution differentiation of party and masses was paralleled by a growing distinction drawn by intellectuals, including film makes, between political power holders and themselves” (Clark 1987, p. 183). The Cultural Revolution in China under Mao resulted in a differentiation between the party and the masses. Besides, it also divided the Chinese film makers and the politicians. The whole story is in the form of reflection by Luo Yusheng on his father’s death, the story behind their marriage through a historical context. Here, the famous Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi appears as Lao’s mother. She is the most famous and talented film star in China. She is trained in traditional Chinese folk dance, renowned for her powerful acting, martial arts grace and for stunning beauty. Moreover, The Road Home was her first major film in Chinese language. In fact, the story gradually develops through the view point of the mother, not the father. This provides a different interpretation of the story. If the story is developed through the view point of the father, the secret behind the untimely calling back of the teacher might be revealed. But, the director decided to veil the secret forever. To an extent, the film can be interpreted as the story of a young man who learns about the love affair between his father and mother and contemplation on his recently deceased father. But the political and historical criticism through an indirect method helps the viewer/critic to have an idea beyond the romantic context of the film. Moreover, the poster of the Hollywood film Titanic in old Zhao Di’s house reveals that the attitude of china towards the West is undergoing a slow but gradual change. So, it is evident that the techniques used for narration by the son about his parents, political and historical references, difference in use of colour and black and white scenes, stunning performance of Zhang Ziyi, adds more value to the film. Before summing up, it must be pointed out that the Chinese directors are not yet ready to use themes based on modern history. If they use the theme, it is used in an indirect form. For, instance, a casual viewer may not be able to find out the indirect flow of history in the film- The Road Home. The reason behind this fear is that they are under the strict control of the government and there are limitations to choose themes from the modern history, which is also the history of the government of China. China is rich in her heritage, and her history is the origin and fall of different dynasties. By analysing this fact, one can see that the modern Chinese culture is deeply indebted to its past. Here, the attempt is to review and investigate the treatment history in the film- The Banquet by Xiao gang Feng. 2. The Banquet (Ye Yan) The Chinese film, The Banquet (Ye Yan) by Xiao gang Feng is considered as a loose adaptation of the Shakespearean play-Hamlet. The famous Chinese film stars like Ziyi Zang, David Wu, and Xun Zhou etc were casted as important characters. From another view point, the film is closely related to the history of monarchy in china. For instance, the theme of the film is originated from a tale of fate and revenge set in around 900 AD., in China. The plot of the film is strictly limited to the history of china but visualized through a different view point by adopting a western play’s theme to the Chinese context. It was not so difficult to the director Xiao gang Feng because the history of Chinese monarchy is not so different from the plot of Shakespearean plays. When one tries to investigate deep into the Chinese history, it can be seen that there were conspiracy among the rulers within the same clan. So the plot of conspiracy among father, step mother, uncle, son and courtiers was usual in china. The world renowned Chinese actress Ziyi Zang plays the leading role of the widowed Empress, namely Wan. She was forced to marry the new emperor Li (Ge You) to protect herself from further problems in her life. Almost all the characters in this film are motivated by desire of power and are ready to go further to fulfil their desire. Another point is that all the main characters are so defensive because they want to preserve themselves and to fulfil their ever-growing ambition. The story is set in the 10th century china where the prince Wu Luan of Tang Dynasty falls in love with a girl but for misfortune she was selected as the new empress by his own father. So Wu Luan was forced to flee from the palace and sought refuge in a school of Arts and decided to lead the life of a scholar. Later, he came to know that his father was murdered by his uncle Li (Ge You), who ascended the throne. Actually, Wu Luan was the real heir to the throne so his uncle sends some assassins to kill the prince. But the prince managed to escape and returned to the palace. But the new emperor and empress were not ready to give up their throne to the prince. But the empress was ready to help the prince because she had a soft feeling towards him. Moreover, she also had a secret plot to assassinate the emperor. Here, support came from different corners to the young prince, especially from Yin (Huang Xiaming) and his father, a high ranking official. The climax scene is really messed up with unexpected incidents. Moreover, it originates much tension in the mind of the viewer because it is a banquet arranged by the Emperor. At the Banquet, the schemes and lust for power of the officials culminate and it provides a proper decision over the future of the ruling dynasty. Some critics pointed out that the film is a passable commercial attempt by the director to please the westerners. The plot of the film, which is based on the play Hamlet and other borrowings from the west like theme of banquet are pointed out by the critics. The banquet scenes were so common in Elizabethan theatre. Xiao gang Feng infused this theme and scene in his film. But some critics pointed out that this was an attempt to combine commercial cinema to a stage play. But the difference in treatment of the western element provides more clarity and depth to the theme of human character. But it is clear that the film fails to fix an emotional attachment with the characters. Sometimes, it may be because of the climax, which can be easily guessed by anyone who knows the plot of Hamlet, the play. Throughout the film, the prince Wu Luan is aimless, indecisive and absorbed in thoughts. But, the empress Wan remains enigmatic and seems to be planning her own scheme of action. Besides, her desire towards power makes her more important than other characters in the film. She was ready to be the wife of the old emperor only for the sake of power. When the new emperor, Wu Luan’s uncle usurped the throne, she was ready to be his wife. Her desire for power is much stronger that the old emperor, uncle Li and Wu Luan. Moreover, she was ready to be the part of a murder plot planned by the courtiers to kill the new emperor. This shows that empress Wan is ready to go to any extent to sustain her power. The new emperor was clever and crooked enough to kill Wu Luan’s father. But he did not have any control over his young wife and his blind love towards her decided his destiny. The desire of the characters towards ultimate power is not predetermined, but most of them were forced to do something and were ready to change according to circumstances. The crime element in the film is resulted from the basic human instinct of self-protection/preservation. For instance, the first move of the empress was for self –protection, then to protect the crown prince. When she came to know that she can no more protect him, she decides to take over the whole control. Here, the human values are lost in desire, uncontrollable situations and rapid change in incidents. Besides, the empress is forced by the circumstance to commit crime. From her side, her stand is right because she did all to protect herself. Here, one must think about the emotional struggle and sacrifice done by her. But from another viewpoint, the motive behind her desire is not for ultimate power but the forbidden desire for her step-son Wu Luan. There is ample evidence for the importance given for traditional Chinese martial Arts. For instance, the sword practice scene by the empress and the crown prince. Besides, Ziyi Zang and Daniel Wu are excellent in martial arts. The fight scenes, black knights, singers, courtiers, conspiracy against the emperor provide ample evidence to the historical connection of the film. Besides, the costumes, woodworks, metal works etc are rich and are connected with the imperial history of China. Moreover, there are some melodramatic elements such as court scenes and banquet scene. Besides, the Chinese opera sequences which depict the prince’s artistic pursuits can be connected to the rich tradition and history. To an extent, the life of the prince is devoted to martial arts and revenge for his father’s murder. Moreover, the film fits into the Wuxia (martial arts) genre of Chinese films which are rich in historical references. Before concluding it is important to point out that history is clearly evident in the film-The Banquet. The transformation of Shakespearean play to that of Chinese settings provide with immense freedom and responsibility to the director. So, one can see that the transformation of the play resulted in a film with a different outlook that cannot be seen in other Chinese films, especially in the genre of martial Arts films. Bibliography Clark, P 1987, Chinese cinema: culture and politics since 1949, 2nd edn, CUP Archive. Read More