The Emperor and the Assassin
(Columbia TriStar)
Chen Kaige's story
of the third-century-BC Chinese king who was driven to unite the bloodily
bellicose Six Kingdoms into one empire had the potential to be the Chinese
Godfather and then some, but in the end it's part Grand Opera and part
Oprah, part Shakespeare and part shake-and-bake. Li Xuejian as the king brings
a certain nihilistic lunacy to his downfall, veering from Hamlet-like play to
the high dudgeon of Lear. And Gong Li as his childhood sweetheart puts in an
off-kilter performance, emerging as a spoiled woman who discovers her soul (she
falls for the assassin, who's the unspoiled alter ego of the king) even as he
loses his to the lust for power. The Emperor and the Assassin offers
some of the most brilliant setpieces to be seen on the screen these days,
moments of dramatic confrontation and visual poetry that are staggering. Like
the Six Kingdoms, they rebel against the unifying vision and emerge discordant
and triumphant.
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