| The core theme of this mainland China movie is the conflict between Qin King Ying Zheng (and soon to be China's First Emperor) and Gao Jianli, a talented musician. They were childhood friends when Ying was a royal hostage in another state, and when Ying finally succeeds to the throne of his homeland, he pursues the ambition of uniting all of China under his rule, but he does not forget his old friend and wants Gao to compose a new national, imperial anthem to inspire patriotism and unity.
Gao, however, is aghast at Ying's tyrannical ways and resists cooperation. The king's daughter, Yueyang, takes a fancy to Gao and seduces him. The two become genuine lovers, even though the princess has been pledged to marry the son of the king's top general, and the king has to defuse the scandal from undermining his court.
All this unfolds in scene after scene of palace intrigue, and lots of lots of emoting that gets wearying after awhile. We see the king alternate between being angry and sentimental. He wants Gao's loyalty and musical skills to serve his grand purpose, and Gao grudingly gives in enough to save his head, but is never completely won over, and so the two are constantly bickering at each other.
In the end, Gao apparently composes the anthem but commits suicide after attacking Ying during the latter's ceremony, proclaiming himself Emperor.
So what to make of the movie?
The sets and costumes are not as lavish as other films to come more recently from China, but scenes of thousands of soldiers cheering their overlord, with fluttering banners and massive drums, does make for good spectacle. The story can be interpreted as one man's struggle to maintain his freedom of conscience, but it sounds more interesting to read in a novel, than to see it acted out as two guys going back and forth whining about each other's ways. |
Viewer Comments:
