The Banquet (2006 film)

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The Banquet
The movie poster.
Directed by	Feng Xiaogang
Produced by	John Chong Wang Zhongjun
Written by	Qiu Gangjian Sheng Heyu
Starring	Zhang Ziyi Ge You Daniel Wu Zhou Xun
Music by	Tan Dun
Cinematography	Zhang Li
Editing by	Liu Miaomiao
Distributed by	Huayi Brothers Media Asia Films
Release date(s)	Sept. 14, 2006 Sept. 15, 2006 Sept. 15, 2006
Running time	131 min.
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
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The Banquet (Chinese: 夜宴; pinyin: Yè Yàn; literally "The Night Banquet") is a 2006 Chinese wuxia-drama film, directed by Feng Xiaogang and starring Zhang Ziyi. With themes that deals with revenge and fate, the story is loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's Hamlet and is set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, in 10th-century China.

1 Setting
2 Plot
3 Style
4 Cast
5 Festivals and awards
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Setting

The movie is most likely a portrayal of the Later Jin Dynasty, the third of the five dynasties during the period of 907-960. There are several clues in the movie which indicate it is a tale of the Later Jin Dynasty, although not explicitly stated. Firstly, the Grand Marshal says that Emperor Li is the third emperor he has served in his lifetime. This therefore indicates that there had recently (in historical terms) been a spate of overthrown dynasties, which is congruent with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. This same information can also be correlated with the Later Jin Dynasty - the third dynasty of the period. Secondly, the movie mentions the Khitans and relations with the Khitans quite extensively. As historians know, it is the Later Jin who saw their rise to power because of support from the Khitans. Lastly, we know that this portrayed empire could not have been one of the Ten Kingdoms (who were all based in the southern regions of China), because this kingdom was obviously not in a tropical climate.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Emperor Li (Shakespeare's Claudius) has murdered his brother and upon acceding the throne, has taken his brother's young wife, Empress Wan (younger version of Shakespeare's Gertrude) as his wife and has her recrowned as Empress.

The usurping emperor then sents out riders to assassinate his nephew, Crown Prince Wu Luan (Shakespeare's Hamlet), who would succeed the throne before any of his uncle's progeny. The crown prince, away at a retreat for masked mime actors, survives the massacre at the monastery and is eventually spirited back to the palace.

To keep him alive, Empress Wan has made a compromise with his uncle, which angers Prince Wu Luan. His relationship with his stepmother is unusual because they grew up together in the court, are about the same age and she has romantic feelings for him.

However, the prince is engaged to marry Qing Nu (Shakespeare's Ophelia), the daughter of a palace official, the Grand Marshal (who can be linked to Shakespeare's Polonius). A close ally of the former emperor, the Grand Marshall's power is weakened when his son (Shakespeare's Laertes), who is very protective of his sister, Qing Nu, is sent to a distant province to become governor.

Meanwhile, the Empress Wan is to have a new coronation ceremony. As a special treat, Prince Wu Luan, an accomplished singer and dancer, stages a masked mime play that exposes his uncle as his father's murderer.

Rather than kill the prince and risk alienating Empress Wan, the emperor decides the prince would be traded as a hostage for the prince of a neighboring kingdom, the Khitans, although it is known that the neighbor prince is an imposter. An ambush by the emperor's men is set up in a far away, snowy land, but the Grand Marshal's son saves the prince.

Believing that power is firmly in his grip, the emperor calls for a grand banquet. Qing Nu, the Grand Marshal's daughter, has planned another play for the occasion, and in tribute to her fiance, she wears his theater mask. Empress Wan has her own plans – to poison the emperor. However, the scheme to poison the emperor fails as the cup he was to drink out of is instead given to Qing Nu out of respect and partly of pity for her. Upon the young woman's death, the emperor realises in horror that the empress Wan had plotted his death. It is then revealed that Crown Prince Wu Luan was in fact a member of the masked performing troupe. The emperor then commits suicide by drinking the rest of the poisoned wine intended for him. As Empress Wan asks Wu Luan to kill her, the Grand Marshal's son attempts to kill the Empress to avenge his sister, but his poisoned blade is stopped by Prince Wu Luan and Empress Wan stabs the Grand Marshal's son. However, Prince Wu Luan fatally poisons himself in the process of stopping the Grand Marshal's son.

Before the death of Empress Wan, she makes a short speech about the "flames of desire" she has supposedly escaped. However, almost immediately after, completing the cycle of death, the empress is stabbed by a dagger from an unknown source.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Style

The movie is cinematographically interesting because of the accurate reconstitution of Tang Dynasty settings and costumes.^{[citation needed]}. At 180 meters long and 60 meters wide, the elaborate set of the Emperor's Palace is the largest ever built in China.

The film shares some similarities to another epic martial arts film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which had martial arts choreography by Yuen Woo-ping (who also is credited on The Banquet as executive producer) and a score composed by Tan Dun. The score is a mixture of Western classical and Chinese classical music. Another similarity is the involvement of Tim Yip who, as in the earlier film, took on responsibilities for production design and costume design, but now under the all-encompassing title of art director as well.

[edit] Cast

Zhang Ziyi as the Empress Wan (a modified "Gertrude")
Ge You as the Emperor Li ("Claudius")
Daniel Wu as Prince Wu Luan ("Hamlet")
Zhou Xun as Qing Nu ("Ophelia")
Ma Jingwu as the Grand Marshal ("Polonius")
Huang Xiaoming as the Grand Marshal's son ("Laertes")

[edit] Festivals and awards

The Banquet had its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival,^[1] where it received the Future Film Festival Digital Award.^[2] Parts of the film had been previewed by film buyers during the 2006 Cannes Film Festival in May, where a promotional event for the film was hosted.

The film was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival on the same day it opened to wide release in China. It received the People's Choice Award at the 4th World Film Festival of Bangkok, where it was screened two weeks before its wide release in Thailand.

The Banquet was chosen as Hong Kong's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, while China's entry was Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower. ^[3]

The Banquet won 2 awards and 5 nominations at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. Art Director Tim Yip won for both Best Art Direction and Best Make up and Costume Design. The Banquet won 3 other nominations, including Best Cinematography (Li Zhang), Best Original Score (Dun Tan), and Best Song (Liangying Zhang). Co-star Xun Zhou, who plays Qing Nu, (Best Actress) and Stunt Choreographer Yuen-woo Ping (Best Stunt Choreography won awards that evening, but for other films.

[edit] References

^ "Venice critics want a more Chinese 'Banquet'", Xinhua, September 5, 2006.
^ 63rd Venice Film Festival - 2006 Awards, Alternative Film Guide (retrieved 10-23-2006).
^ "'Curse,' 'The Banquet' picked as Oscar entries", Associated Press via Chinadotcom, October 3, 2006.

[edit] External links

Films directed by Feng Xiaogang
Lost My Love (1994) • Dream Factory (1997) • Be There or Be Square (1998) • Sorry Baby (1999) • A Sigh (2000) • Big Shot's Funeral (2001) • Cell Phone (2003) • A World Without Thieves (2004) • The Banquet (2006)

Cinema of China
Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • Film chronology • Cinematographers • Festivals • Producers • Screenwriters •