Genre: Action, Drama
Plot: A sumptuous epic of courtly intrigue, royal usurpers and star-crossed love, Feng Xiaogang’s The Banquet is a beguiling, scintillating experience. Featuring the singularly steely frostiness of the stunning Ziyi Zhang, far and away one of the most dynamic actors of her generation, this lavish production recalls recent martial arts masterworks such as Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but simultaneously evokes fiery historical dramas on the scale of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Feng is China’s most successful commercial director and he has assembled an incomparable team for this ambitious film. Composer Tan Dun, production designer Tim Yip and stunt director Yuen Wo-Ping (all Crouching Tiger alumni) are top in their fields – and so it is no surprise that every aspect of The Banquet is staggeringly gorgeous.Zhang brings a most particular sangfroid to the role of Empress Wan, a young and beautiful woman whose skill with a sword is legendary in the nation. Wan is locked in a hollow marriage to the Emperor but harbours a devastating secret love for the introverted and melancholic Prince Wu Luan (played by Chinese idol Daniel Wu). Once her childhood sweetheart, Wu Luan is now her stepson. When the Emperor dies suddenly, his conniving younger brother Li (Ge You) assumes the throne. The
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| Cast |
Ziyi Zhang
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers |
 | Daniel Wu
New Police Story, High Risk, Naked Weapon | Xun Zhou
The Emperor and the Assassin, Beijing Bicycle, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress | You Ge
Farewell My Concubine, Lifetimes, Tian xia wu zei | Jingwu Ma
Raise the Red Lantern, Seven Swords | | |
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