Chen Kaige's epic scroll, about China's first imperial leader, the man sent to kill him, and the woman both men fall in love with, is visually striking, but dramatically sluggish. It's set in the third century BC - when, in the West, Rome was trying to close its gates against Hannibal. A Chinese warlord (Li Xuejian, above) uses his mistress (Gong Li) as a pretext for invading the next-door state by pretending she's a traitor and has crossed over to find an assassin to kill her former lover. The plan misfires.
Storytelling in such elaborate detail is not Chen's forte; and, as often in populous oriental dramas, the clone-like looks of even leading characters present a complexity for a western eye. But it's the stunning look of the film, the scale of its crowd scenes and battles and its gorgeous palace sets - including some tricky hydraulic plumbing in the throne room that would put any marksman off his target - which keep that eye dazzled, even if sometimes dazed by the storytelling.
The Emperor And The Assassin
Cert: cert12
