Friday May 5, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 18 |
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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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The Promise delivers visual spectacle, mythic storytelling |
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| The Promise delivers visual spectacle, mythic storytelling | ||
| by Lorelei Quenzer
SGN A&E Writer
The Promise Directed by Chen Kaige Starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Jang Dong-Gun, Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse In Mandarin with English subtitles Opens today at the Guild 45th and at Bellevue's Lincoln Square Cinema I remember when previews for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon evoked laughter from art-theater audiences. What were those folks doing, flying through the air, crossing swords at the top of a bamboo forest? Ridiculous. Of course, six years later, Crouching Tiger is considered a masterpiece - yet another film of director Ang Lee's that should have won the Oscar for best picture - and fantasy martial arts films are de rigueur. This year's requisite offering, The Promise, is by Oscar-nominated director Chen Kaige (Farewell, My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin), and it's his first foray into the genre. I, personally, am hoping it's not his last. A young waif - it's not immediately clear if this is a boy or a girl - scavenges a battlefield hoping to find a scrap of food among the dead bodies. She pries open a warrior's clenched fist and finds a meat bun, but just as she's about to run away with the morsel a boy clad in armor rises up from the horde and demands her obedience. She escapes, with her bite of food, but when she drops it in a lake an ethereal goddess rises out of the black waters and offers her a bargain: she can escape her poverty for a life of luxury, but in return she must give up any chance to experience true love. The child chooses wealth and becomes a princess. As an adult, Qingcheng (Cecilia Cheung, Shaolin Soccer) is graceful, beautiful and haughty, and she captures the hearts of three men: General Guangming (Hiroyuki Sanada, The Last Samurai); his rival, Duke Wuhuan (Nicholas Tse), who also happens to be the boy-warrior from the battlefield of her childhood; and the slave Kunlun (Jang Dong-Gun). When Kunlun - disguised as General Guangming - saves her life, she feels the first stirring of forbidden passion, but there's that sticky pact she made with the goddess! She finds herself in the arms of the real General, poor Kunlun a mere spectator to their happiness, with the persistent Duke pursuing them relentlessly. You and I already know how this will play out, but that doesn't make the film any less riveting. While the plot of The Promise may not be subtle, the film's luscious visual style is darker and richer than other recent offerings in the magical-realism genre, reminding me more of a Terry Gilliam flick than martial arts movie. Chen Kaige's use of blindingly saturated, vibrant colors is balanced by scenes clouded with smoky hues, and his use of visual symbolism is masterful. Wing-like sleeves, flowing hair and stormy landscapes are fraught with meaning, and every entrance of Goddess Manshen (a fictional creation of the director) is foreboding; she reminded me of depictions of Kuan Yin, although she's clearly no goddess of compassion. The pompatus of love even has influence over the General's clothing, as his tastes miraculously change from red plated armor to silken pastel robes the deeper he is drawn into Qingchen's gaze. Besides the elements of mistaken identity and disguise, a strong theme of The Promise is the difference between freedom and slavery; often that difference is one of choice, not just of circumstance. Qingcheng has chosen a kind of slavery, but, as it turns out, so have the General and Duke Wuhuan. Even Kunlun has some choice in the matter; he is endowed with magical powers that enable him to run faster than the fastest horse. Surely he can escape his enslavement? Like I said, it's always clear what direction the film is heading, and it's not about "subtle." Fantastical and surreal events may generate a few laughs from those unable to suspend their disbelief, and many of the computer-generated graphics are naïvely executed. Some of the costumes - especially the elaborate battle helmets - have an anime quality reminiscent of Japanese children's tokusatsu TV shows I love. All of this lends to the fairy-tale feeling of The Promise, and I couldn't help wishing that my niece was old enough to enjoy the film with me. I'll have to wait a few years for that (even when she can read subtitles, I'll want to hold off; the movie's actually quite violent), but, meanwhile, we can enjoy the spectacle on the big screen, in all of its glory. The Promise was a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Cinematography and production design are by Peter Pau and Tom Yip, Academy Award winners for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's rated PG-13 for stylized violence and martial arts action, and some sexual content. |
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International Readers |
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2nd Annual WA State 05.19.06 IKEA
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