The call of the emperor
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The call of the emperor |
| Original title | 夜宴 - Yèyàn |
| Country of production | China |
| original language | Standard Chinese |
| Publishing year | 2006 |
| length | 131 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Feng Xiaogang |
| script | Gangjian Qiu , Sheng Heyu |
| production | John Chong , Wang Zhongjun |
| music | Tan Dun |
| camera | Li Zhang |
| cut | Liu Miaomiao |
| occupation | |
| |
The Emperor's Call ( Chinese 夜宴 , Pinyin Yèyàn - "Evening Banquet ") is a Chinese film from 2006 . Directed in with actors like Zhang Ziyi and Daniel Wu star-studded film led Feng Xiaogang . The film was released in China on September 14, 2006, and internationally, the film was first shown at the Venice International Film Festival .
The soundtrack was composed by Tan Dun , some pieces were played by the pianist Lang Lang . The opulent furnishings were crowned with the construction of a 180 m long and 60 m wide backdrop of the Imperial Palace, the largest backdrop used in China to date.
action
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is used as a model , the action takes place in the 10th century at the time of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in China.
After Emperor Li murdered his brother, he took the throne and his brother's widow, Empress Wan, as his wife. She becomes empress again.
In order to secure the throne permanently, he must kill his brother's son, Crown Prince Wu. To do this, he sends riders out to kill his nephew, who, however, survives the massacre in a monastery. Empress Wan, who grew up with Prince Wu, has feelings for the prince, but who is engaged to Qing Nu. Qing Nu's father, marshal at the palace, loses influence at the palace when his son is sent to a distant province as governor.
Wan organizes a ceremony where Prince Wu is to appear as the actor. Here he appears masked, his performance points to the murder of his father by a scorpion sting , which was organized by the new emperor. Then there is a duel with guards of the palace, who, however, exchange the wooden swords for real swords when the emperor who is attending the duel seems to have fallen asleep. After this performance the emperor sends him to the kingdom of the Chitan (Kitan) as an exchange for a prince of the Chitan (Kitan). The prince is supposed to be killed on the way there, but the marshal's son comes to his aid and is able to save him.
The dramatic climax comes during the emperor's great banquet. Empress Wan wants to poison the emperor, but the cup with the poison is finally handed to Qing Nu, who is staging a play in honor of her fiancé, Prince Wu. Due to the strong poison, Qing Nu dies very quickly, the emperor realizes that the poison was actually intended for him. He then commits suicide by drinking the cup. While Prince Wu is still mourning Qing Nu, the marshal's son tries to avenge the murder and kill Wan. Prince Wu grabs the poisoned blade and dies too.
In the last shot, the empress dies from a thrown knife, but the culprit remains unclear.
reception
In China itself, the lavishly produced film did not achieve the expected number of viewers, although there it was peppered with funny elements, especially puns, some of which were lost when translated into English. In the first two weeks, the film grossed a hundred million yuan (about ten million euros ).
The fact that the film fell short of expectations in the People's Republic could be due to the fact that director Feng Xiaogang is known for making “popular films” (modern comedies ). However, the emperor's call had also been turned towards commercial interests and was thus aimed at a different audience.
The film received mixed ratings abroad. While the Hollywood Reporter's criticism praised the top-class cast, the equipment and the choreography of the fight scenes, the film's "emptiness" is criticized, as if the "main course of an opulent banquet" is missing. The Wushu attitudes that are more "ballet-like than brutal" are emphasized.
Originally intended as a Chinese proposal for the Oscar , Zhang Yimou's film The Curse of the Golden Flower was selected. Hongkong certain The Banquet as its candidate for the Oscar for best foreign language film .
Web links
- Yeyan - The Banquet (2006) - The Banquet in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Yeyan - The Banquet (2006) - The Emperor's Call in Hong Kong Movie Database (Chinese, English)
- Comparison of the cut versions Chinese version and Hong Kong version by The Banquet at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465676/trivia
- ↑ Xinhua .net: Venice critics want a more Chinese "Banquet" ( Memento of October 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 8, 2019 (English)
- ^ China Internet Information Center
- ↑ movie review from Love HK Flim.com
- ↑ The Banquet - Review by Kirk Honeycutt, September 8, 2006 ( Memento of August 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), In: www.hollywoodreporter.com, accessed on August 8, 2019 (English)