China Night

Last night I joined J.E. and his wife Y. for dinner at one of our local pseudo-Chinese buffets, then went back to their house to see two movies that were both based on the story of the Emperor of Qin: The Emperor and the Assassin, a stately historical drama, and The Hero, a glossy kung fu flick.

It was almost inevitable that I would be disappointed by the former, since director Kaige Chen's stunning Farewell My Concubine is one of my top 30. Emperor, a sobering tale of how the ruler's ruthless political ambitious alienated him from everyone he cares about, was competently done, but lacked the intensity and originality of Concubine.

Hero was also a mild letdown. Looks like director Zhang Yimou might be jealous of Ang Lee, the Taiwanese director who broke out of the art-film ghetto with the blockbuster success of his first action film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Or perhaps it's a mere coincidence that Yimou, after a string of excellent dramas like Raise the Red Latern and Not One Less, has now decided to venture into the hyperkinetic world of cinema kung fu. But I doubt it. Hero stars Tiger's Zhang Zimi, and one scene of warriors flying magically over the treetops was especially derivative. Still, it's a good view. The Roshomon-style narrative structure is interesting: framed by dialogue between a minor public official who calls himself "Nameless" and the Emperor, the movie first portrays Nameless's version of events, then the Emperor points out inconsistencies in the story, accuses the official of lying, and we see the plot as the Emperor supposes it happened; and finally the official confesses to the deception and corrects the Emperor's hypothesis with the true account. The cinematography is chromatically rich, although the action too often gets bogged down with Yimou's pretty, carefully composed shots; e.g. a duel between Maggie Cheung and Zhang Zimi is interrupted by a slow-mo shower of golden leaves.

After the viewing we talked about Chinese history a bit. Y., though not a Communist, defended her homeland from what she perceived as the Western media's bias. According to her, for instance, the crackdown at Tiananmen Square was provoked by students murdering soldiers and threatening to destroy Beijing's central power station.

Y. is at least twenty years younger than J., so I guess there's hope for me yet--although it might involve moving to China. (Maybe the West is both exotic and prestigious in Chinese eyes and this combination enhances the perceived attractiveness of Westerners?)

In other moviegoing developments, one of Lubbock's megaplex's is showing two movies I'm interested in. Le Divorce has gotten mediocre reviews but I'll attend simply out of loyalty to the Ivory-Merchant brand name; Dirty Pretty Things has been more favorably received and stars la tres belle Audrey Tautou. Since the rain kept me from taking any camping trips this weekend, I might splurge on the cinema.